


Crumbling Down

by OminousPredictions



Category: Miraculous Ladybug
Genre: Alya Césaire Redemption, Angry Alya Césaire, Badass Alya Césaire, Confused Alya Césaire, F/F, F/M, Lila Rossi Bashing, Lila Rossi's Lies Are Exposed, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-03-04
Updated: 2020-03-30
Packaged: 2021-03-01 01:20:59
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 20
Words: 61,068
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23016919
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/OminousPredictions/pseuds/OminousPredictions
Summary: Lila Rossi has it all at her school, mostly thanks to the neverending stream of lies that she utters to draw in and maintain her popularity. But unlike everyone else in Paris, she has a burning hatred for the superheroine Ladybug, one of the few people to see through and call her out on her bullshit. So when she is caught up in an akuma attack and sees a large section of crumbling wall above where Ladybug happens to be standing, she takes advantage of this opportunity and pushes it onto her, almost resulting in a victory for Hawk Moth. Lila is frustrated that she failed to actually kill Ladybug, but takes solace in the fact that she did hurt her……… unaware that the whole thing was caught on camera by Alya Cesaire. Karma is not mocked, Lila Rossi, and she’s gunning for you.EDIT: Now has a TV Tropes page! I feel so privileged by this honour.
Relationships: Alya Césaire/Nino Lahiffe, Ivan Bruel/Mylène Haprèle, Juleka Couffaine/Rose Lavillant, Marc Anciel/Nathaniel Kurtzberg, Max Kanté/Lê Chiến Kim
Comments: 694
Kudos: 2037
Collections: Fanfic from Movies/Shows/Dramas, Lila Anon Support Group, Lila salt/exposed fics





	1. Chapter One

**Author's Note:**

> Like many Miraculous Ladybug fans, I cannot stand Lila and want her punished. Horribly. I'm not even sure if what I come up with will be enough. I am also frustrated with the class' gullibility in falling for Lila's lies so easily, but let me be clear that this is NOT a big-heaping-bowl-of-salt fic. This is a fic where Lila tries to kill Ladybug and Alya sees it, forcing her to realise the truth about Lila. Though it breaks her heart to realise that she was tricked, she pulls herself together and endeavours to make sure Lila suffers for everything. Alya is a character I'm fairly ambivalent towards, but I don't believe she could be the monster that a lot of other fics make her out to be. She will be badass, unstoppable and fiercely determined to right her wrongs here.

Lila Rossi sat smugly in her element, the brainless idiots that passed for her classmates hanging onto her every word as she regaled them with false tales of adventures she’d been on and people she’d met. It amazed her just how gullible people could be, though not everyone fell for what she said. It had happened before in the schools she’d been to in the past, a select few who were marginally more intelligent than the rest and who’d made the mistake of trying to challenge her, only to find their lives come crumbling down as Lila showed them why it was a bad idea to make her an enemy. But she enjoyed it, watching them realise the truth as she turned their friends against them, destroyed their reputations and left them alone, seeing the despair and anger and grief in their eyes as their worlds came crumbling down and they could do nothing about it. She was especially looking forward to inflicting such a fate on Marinette, the infuriatingly goody-goody class representative. 

Marinette. How she hated the girl, and especially how everyone thought the sun shone out of her every orifice. Same with Ladybug, the so-called hero. So what if she’d lied about being her best friend, and being a descendant of Volpina? It hadn’t been hurting anyone, and yet the great heroine had come and shot her down in front of Adrien, the boy she was trying to impress and who would be hers eventually. She relished the day when Hawk Moth would grant her the power to squash the wretched bug, but until then she would have to suffice for Marinette, who wasn’t there at the moment. She mentioned it, casually, making it look like she was concerned. Alya, good and gullible Alya who would do anything for a story, snapped up the bait.

“She’s not coming in today. She has this special commission she has to finish, and it’s going on her extra credit.”, Alya said.

“Oh, I see. Noble, but isn’t she supposed to be our class representative?”, Lila said, sowing the seeds.

“Yes, she is.”, Alya replied.  
“And doesn’t one of those things entail being present in the class, regardless of personal wants and needs?”, Lila pressed, now watering the sown seeds.

“Well, I suppose…..”, Alya trailed off.

Lila hid a smirk as she watched the seeds grow, but then Rose decided to open her fat mouth.

“But Marinette is always here for us! We only need to call her if we have any problems and she always finds a solution.”, she said.

“And she’s great at multitasking. She was able to help me with my history homework while she did a commission for Jagged Stone.”, Nino said.

Lila sensed she was losing her control and tried to think of something to get it back. But a sudden explosion that shook the very building around them was a bit distracting. Several people screamed and clutched each other.

“What was that?”, cried Rose.

“It must be an akuma!”, said Alix.

“Not again! That’s the second one this week!”, grumbled Nathaniel.

The voice of Mr. Damocles sounded over the loudspeaker.

“Attention, students. There is an akuma alert in place, level three. Please seek a safe place at once.”

Another explosion, much louder this time, shook the building and dust fell from the ceiling. Adrien sprang up, taking charge.

“You heard him! Everyone out! Now!”, he said.

The class scrambled for the door, scattering in all directions once outside. Lila waited until Adrien was going past and latched onto him.

“Adrien! Please, don’t leave me alone!”, she simpered.

“Lila! Please, you have to let go of me!”, Adrien replied.

She hung on tighter, digging her nails in and making him wince, but then something large impacted in the courtyard, sending up a cloud of dust. When it cleared, there was the akuma. It looked like a large man, in a nice suit, and hanging from his belt were six little dolls dressed as traffic wardens, likely the cause of his akumatisation. As the akuma pulled itself up, several hiding students pointed to the roof and cheered.

“It’s Ladybug! She’s here to save us!”

Sure enough, there was a flash of red and black spots and the heroine of Paris swooped in, wielding her yo-yo. Lila gritted her teeth and growled at the sight of her hated foe, but her distraction allowed Adrien to slip out of her grasp and pull her over to an empty classroom.

“Hide in here! You’ll be safe!”, he said.

Before she could manage a retort, he slammed the door shut and darted off. When she opened the door he was out of sight, but now Ladybug had been joined by Chat Noir and they were fighting the akuma off quite well. Lila crept around the upper mezzanine, watching the battle unfold. Maybe this one would be the one to finish off Ladybug, which she was not going to miss for the entire world. The akuma hurled a large chunk of stone at the heroes, which missed and hit the library stairs, bringing down a huge pile of rubble and part of a wall. Ladybug and Chat Noir exchanged looks, a plan of attack already formulated, then Ladybug leapt back from the fight as Chat Noir jumped in. Clearly he was to wear the akuma down before Ladybug struck the final blow. Lila’s cold green eyes took in the scene, noticing that Ladybug was standing beneath where the library stairs once were and above her was the large chunk of wall, which was leaning at an awkward angle. Lila took this in and her mind worked, noticing how it could fall if it was pushed and if it did, it would land right on Ladybug. An evil grin appeared on her face as she walked over to the wall. Ladybug was still there, all focus on the akuma and Chat Noir; she would never see it coming.

“This is what you get, Ladybug!”, she spat.

And she pushed the wall, hard. It shifted, groaned, shifted again…… and then toppled over. Ladybug looked up and saw it falling, eyes widening in horror, and tried to jump out of the way but she was not fast enough. Even over the sound of crashing masonry and shattering brick, her cry of agony and surprise was audible. 

“Milady!”, Chat Noir cried, horrified.

His momentary distraction was all the akuma needed to slam the leather-clad hero into the ground, dazing him. Both heroes were out for the count, Ladybug half-buried in rubble, Chat Noir barely conscious in a Chat Noir-shaped hole in the ground. Lila stood on the edge, smirking down at her handiwork……...

“That’ll teach you a lesson. My gift to you, Hawk Moth.”, she said.

……….unaware that the entire thing had been filmed on a camera phone, currently held by a completely shocked Alya Cesaire. Her mind buzzed, trying to come up with a possible explanation to what she had just seen, but the part of her brain that had been warning her against Lila finally asserted itself with a dope slap to the rest of her brain.

“Lila just tried to kill Ladybug!”

The words screamed inside her head, obliterating all conscious thought. Her phone slipped from her numb fingers and clattered to the ground as she fell back behind her cover, almost hyperventilating. The look on Lila’s face as she pushed that wall, and when she was looking down at Ladybug as she was half-buried, was more terrible than anything she had ever seen. She didn’t look shocked that she had accidentally pushed a wall onto Paris’ most beloved person, she looked happy, gleeful, almost joyful. Her eyes……. such hatred should not be possible. And then she said something, too quietly for Alya to hear it but she knew how to lip-read.

“That’ll teach you a lesson. My gift to you, Hawk Moth.”

Alya buried her head in her hands. This was too much. She had trusted Lila, believed her when she said she was Ladybug’s best friend, and now she had seen said supposed best friend push a wall onto her and try to kill her. The interview she’d published on her blog, her beloved blog, was false. And now the shock really began to eat into her, because if the interview was false then how many other things were? All the stories Lila had told, all the celebrities she knew, all the grand things she had done and…….. all the things she’d said about Marinette? Marinette had said Lila was a liar and Alya had told her there was no proof. She hadn’t believed her best friend off the bat, but had believed a strange new girl right off the bat, had posted that interview without verifying if it was true with Ladybug. 

Tears began to leak out of her eyes as she realised this. She prided herself on being a good journalist, it was all she aspired to be, and she had failed to heed her own advice in verifying her sources before airing them. She had failed herself, she had failed Ladybug and she had failed her best friend. Clutching her phone, Alya curled in on herself and began to cry.


	2. Chapter Two

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The second chapter. Here, Alya suffers a breakdown as she realises the implications of what Lila really is and beats herself up about trusting her, disbelieving Marinette and not checking her sources like she prides herself on doing. Her awesome big sister, Nora, who saw Lila for what she was at once, and some coffee nets her her first ally in taking down Lila and her old self back, the eager journalist determined to expose the truth. 
> 
> So, dahlings, shall we?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm going to make it clear once again that Alya's not being demonised, but neither is she getting a clean break. She's going to avenge herself and Marinette, bring down Lila and protect her friends. Also Nora is here, and I wrote her as having met Lila once and seeing through her bullshit immediately. 
> 
> But my words here are useless gobble-gobble-gobble. What matters is the chapter.

With both heroes down, it looked bleaker than ever. Indeed, the akuma had just been on the point of removing Ladybug’s earrings when the heroine regained consciousness. One left-handed sucker-punch to the jaw was all that spared her from the loss of her Miraculous, sending the akuma reeling backwards. Ladybug pulled herself free of the rubble, getting her bearings back, and leapt into the fray once more. She dashed over to Chat Noir and pulled him up, shaking and slapping him for good measure.

“Chat Noir! Chat Noir!”, she said.

“But, Mum, I don’t wanna go to school today!”, the feline replied dazedly.

Ladybug shook her head; that blow must have really done a number on him.

“Snap out of it, silly kitty! We still have work to do!”, she snapped.

And she slapped him for good measure. Chat Noir shook his head.

“What? Milady? You’re OK!”, he cried.

“More or less. But enough laying down on the job!”, she replied.

“Did you just pun, milady?”, Chat Noir asked in surprise.

“Did you purr when we were fighting Prime Queen?”, Ladybug retorted, silencing him.

Firmly back on track, the two heroes made swift work of the akuma, breaking the expensive wristwatch that held the little black butterfly and then fixing the damage with Miraculous Ladybug. All was well, another day saved…….. and that’s usually when the cape snags on a missile fin.

==================================================================

Alya had barely stirred even when the cloud of magical ladybugs swept over her as they fixed everything the akuma damaged, but it was only when she heard people calling out for her that she wiped her eyes, got to her feet and walked back to her class. She gave them the excuse that she had been knocked out during the final hurdle and only just come to, which they seemed to accept, but she registered the questioning looks she got from a few people, including Miss Bustier, Nino and Nathaniel. Lila gave her her usual smile, but Alya could barely summon a grimace. She was distracted all through the day and when it was time to go home, she shouldered her bag and practically sped out the door, focused on her task. Which was why she jumped almost out of her skin when a hand descended on her shoulder and she spun around to find Nino looking at her.

“Alya, what’s wrong? I can tell there’s something bothering you, dudette.”, he said.  
The concern and warmth in her boyfriend’s voice broke the dam and Alya threw herself into his arms, sobbing. Nino was forced to take a few steps back, as Alya was bigger and stronger than him, but wrapped his arms around her and hugged his girlfriend, rubbing her back soothingly and not complaining even though her head was causing his headphones to dig into his neck and her tears were soaking his shirt. He loved his girlfriend and was extremely concerned, because she was Alya Cesaire and she did not break down like this. Something really bad had to have happened for Alya to be this upset. Nino was aware of people staring and muttering, but paid them no mind. Alya finally stopped sobbing enough to get a handle on herself, mopping her eyes with a hanky that Rose hastily came over with. 

“Alya, I have never seen you like this before. What happened?”, Nino asked.

“I saw…… something today during the akuma attack. Something that’s caused me to reevaluate things.”, Alya replied.

“What did you see?”, Nino asked.

“It’s complicated. I can’t tell you here, but can you come over to my house later this evening? I have to do some……. research.”, Alya said.

“Sure. I’ll be over about half seven, maybe eight.”, Nino said.

“Good. Thanks, Nino.”, Alya said.

They kissed then parted ways, Alya already feverishly typing on her phone. When she got home, she greeted her older sister Nora with a hug that almost knocked the older girl over. Considering Nora was a highly skilled kickboxer with a body type that would put Wonder Woman to shame, this was impressive.

“Whoa there, little sister! What’s got you all clingy today?”, Nora asked.

When Alya pulled away from her, Nora at once saw that she was upset and sisterly protection snapped into action.

“What’s wrong? Did you get mugged? Or bullied? Who did it? Tell me where they live and I’ll go whoop them good”, Nora said.

“Nora, wait! You were right.”, Alya said.

“I was what?”, Nora replied.

“You were right. About Lila.”, Alya said.

Nora scowled at the mention of that name. She had met Lila briefly when she walked Alya to school and instantly hated the girl. Not only was her false and poisonous demeanour grating, but the girl had actually tried to lie to her face about knowing a famous kickboxer who could teach her some professional moves. Nora had seen red in that instant and barely restrained herself, instead telling Alya when she got home that she did not trust or like Lila and she should avoid her. Alya had brushed her off, but now it seemed that Lila had shown her true colours in a way that had hurt her little sister and that had Nora’s blood boiling.

“What did she do to you?”, she demanded in a commendably level voice.

“Nothing. It’s what I saw her do.”, Alya replied.

Nora brought her sister into the kitchen and made two cups of coffee, which was in plentiful supply as the older Cesaires lived lives that required caffeine to function. Alya took a big gulp.

“OK, I needed that.”, she muttered.

“Right, little sister. Tell me what happened.”, Nora said.

“Well, there was an akuma today and it attacked our school. I went out to film it for my blog……”, Alya began.

Nora rolled her eyes. She admired her little sister’s devotion to her journalistic aspirations, but personally felt there was little sense in risking her life just to get a good shot of superheroes in skintight leather and spandex battling brainwashed and crazy fashion disasters.

“.........and I was filming it, Ladybug was standing back to strike at the right moment, and then I saw Lila.”, Alya said, stopping.

“And? What happened?”, Nora asked.

Alya hesitated; it was difficult to put into words. Slowly, hesitantly, she took her phone out of her pocket, brought up the video and held it out.

“Maybe you should see for yourself. Just don’t crush my phone afterwards.”, she said.

Nora took the phone and pressed play. Her amber-coloured eyes watched the footage with careful consideration, then widened in shock. When the video stopped, Nora sat deadly still for a second, then her face contorted into an expression of absolute rage. Alya quickly whipped her phone out of her older sister’s hand before it was crushed. Nora took several deep, steadying breaths to calm herself down, realising that the last time she was this angry, she ended up being turned into a spider thing that destroyed the Arc de Triomphe.

“I see what you mean, little sister. I might have my issues with Beetle and Mr. Whiskers, but I know they are out there to do good and I would never, ever try and hurt them.”, Nora said.

“I thought Lila was good, I thought she was my friend and Ladybug’s best friend. But after seeing this…..”, Alya said.

“I said she was a bad egg, but that was just evil. I saw it in her eyes.”, Nora replied.

“I know. And I read her lips. I think she might be working for Hawk Moth.”, Alya replied.

“You may be right about that, little sister. But first thing’s first, what are you going to do?”, Nora asked.

Alya looked at her older sister and smiled.

“What I should have done from the beginning. First, I’m going to remove that video of her interview from my blog. Then, I’m going to look up every single thing she ever said she did and find out the truth, before I tell each and every one of my friends what she’s really like.”, she said.

Her smile faded somewhat as she remembered one particular friend.

“But first, really first, I’m going to call Marinette and apologise to her for believing Lila over her. Whatever it takes, I’m bringing that lying putain down and making it up to my BFF.”, Alya said with fiery conviction.

Nora grinned to see the spark of old Alya smouldering once more.

“That’s my little sister! So, what are you waiting for? Get to it!”, she said.

“I will, Nora. I will.”, Alya replied.

And she took off for her room, spurred by her sister’s encouragement and her drive to avenge herself. Lady Karma smiled to watch; the first set in her chain of events was in motion, and the ending would be glorious.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Second chapter over and done with. It starts to heat up, with Alya getting her first ally in taking down Lila and dashing off to begin the good work.


	3. Chapter Three

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Alya begins her research and finds out about Lila's past, including her mother's role and all the celebrities and places she claims to know. Nino arrives and she shows him the video. After recovering from the shock, Nino jumps in to join her in taking down Lila.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Mrs. Rossi will be introduced to the story at some point. She will be a lovely woman whose heart I will have to break with the revelation of what her daughter is really like, but who will temper that heartbreak with Italian fury. I will also state that each classmate will be brought into the fold at some point and NONE will be demonised. Some will have spotted the threads but didn't think much of it before whilst others fell for her hook, line and sinker. But the video, the sacred truth video, will change their minds. Soon, Lila will have every one of her classmates after her head. And she won't even know it. (evil laugh)

Alya worked feverishly, removing the false interview from her blog and posting a message that it was being studied for quality’s sake, to see if it could be put up in higher quality. She was tempted to give the real reason, but she didn’t want to tip off Lila that she was onto her. Lila had shown that she was willing to try and assassinate Ladybug just for being called a liar; Alya wasn’t willing to put herself and her family in the line of fire before she had enough bulletproof cover, so to speak. Next, she saved the video onto her hard drive and three separate USB sticks because luck favoured the prepared, after all. Opening up a word document to note down her findings, she brought up the search engine and searched for any mention of Lila’s family. She quickly hit gold, finding a Signora Claudia Rossi on the roster for the Italian embassy in Paris. However, Signora Rossi was listed as a senior ambassador who had not left France for over six years, putting a great gaping hole in Lila’s tales of travelling. Furthermore, such extensive travelling would have resulted in Signora Rossi being suspended from her position as it would constitute misappropriation of embassy funds and time. Alya jotted all of this down, feeling very sorry for Signora Rossi for having such a lying snake for a daughter. No, no, that would do snakes a disservice, particularly that Viperion hero who she admitted was pretty hot. But it clearly showed Lila had no regard for just who her lies could hurt, because if what she said about the travelling filtered back to the embassy, it could result in her mother losing her job. Alya kept writing and typing, listing out the places Lila had supposedly gone to and people she’d supposedly met, when there was a knock on her door.

“Yes?”, she asked.

“It’s Nora. That flyweight boyfriend of yours is here.”, Nora’s voice said through the door.

“Oh, good.”, Alya replied.

She got up and opened the door, smiling to see Nino looking very nervous with Nora looming over his shoulder. Even though he’d earned her respect after the Anansi incident, he was still scared of her and she loved to rub it in. Alya hugged him because he deserved it.

“Hey, babe. I came over like you said. So, what’s wrong? Your big scary sister said you had something to show me.”, Nino said.

“Oh, she did, did she?”, Alya said, raising an eyebrow at Nora, who shrugged.

“Hey, you were the one on the crusade. And crusades need allies.”, she said.

“Fair enough.”, Alya replied.

“Wait a minute. Crusade? Please don’t tell me we’re going to dress up as knights and go to war?”, Nino pleaded.

“Relax, my sweet. Nothing like dressing up, but I am going to war.”, Alya said.

“War? War with who?”, Nino asked.

Alya led him into her room, giving Nora the usual promise that everything would be PG rated, then sat down in her computer chair whilst motioning for Nino to sit on the bed.  
“So, what’s going on?”, Nino asked.

“It’s about today, and what happened today is about Lila.”, Alya replied.

“Lila? Why? What’s happened to her?”, Nino asked at once.

Alya smiled; Nino’s caring nature was one of the things she truly loved about him, but in this case it could work against them.

“Nothing. But it’s something she did.”, Alya told him.

“What did she do?”, Nino asked.

Alya brought up the video and prepared to play it.

“First, you must swear to me you will not tell anyone about this video. Not until the time is right.”, she said.

“I swear.”, Nino replied, crossing his heart.

“Good.”, Alya said, and hit play.

Nino watched the video with excitement at first, wondering why he hadn’t seen it on the Ladyblog, but then his grin vanished as he saw it pan up to the mezzanine where Lila stood, and then it changed to a look of absolute, total shock and horror as he saw Lila deliberately push the rubble onto Ladybug and stand there gloating. He was completely stock still for a minute after Alya switched it off and waited for his reaction. Then his brain reengaged and he fell back on the bed, his tanned face going pale. Alya wordlessly went and sat next to him, stroking his arm and waiting for him to process it. Nino was a good person who always believed in the best of everyone, and seeing Lila attempt murder on a superhero who saved the city on a weekly basis when she had presented such a sweet and kind image was going to shock him to the core. She could only imagine how the rest of the class would take it, if they believed the footage; Rose would probably cry for a week, Alix would try and punch a hole in the wall, Kim would likely break something. They’d all fallen for her lies, and now they were paying the price. Nino finally came out of his stupor after five minutes.

“Dudette. This is so. Not. Cool.”, he said.

“No. No, it’s not.”, Alya replied.

“I mean, I thought she was nice. But…… what I saw in that video. She hates Ladybug.”, Nino said.

“Yes, she does.”, Alya said.

“How can you be so calm about this?”, Nino asked her incredulously.

“I got it out of my system hours ago. Nora and coffee.”, Alya told him.

After some strong coffee, Nino was more or less the same. The shock and horror had given way to pure anger, rage and fear. He’d let her babysit his younger brother, like Alya had with her sisters, and worried if she’d tried anything with them. Nora had thoroughly interrogated Etta and Ella for details, and they’d said that she’d called them stupid and naive for believing Ladybug was good. Alya had ground her teeth loudly at that, adding one more thing to the “List of Reasons to Destroy Lila Rossi” that she had come up with. Ladybug was bad enough but messing with her family? Oooh, she was going down!

With Nino’s help she had resumed her search for Lila’s claims to debunk, already listing a dozen celebrities whose routines and personalities would make it impossible for Lila to have met them, let alone know them in such intimate ways. If Audrey Bourgeois didn’t give even her daughter the time of day, why would she even deign to listen to an unknown Italian girl for fashion advice. If the Queen of Fashion learned of what Lila had been spreading, it would probably get really ugly. They worked and worked feverishly until Nora came in to tell them that Nino’s mother had called to pick him up and it was high time that Alya was in bed. Before he left, Nino agreed that he would talk to Adrien about this and see about bringing the rest of the class into the fold.

“We have got to take her down. If she’s willing to see Paris destroyed by Hawk Moth just to take down Ladybug, she is a serious threat to us all.”, Nino said.

“I know. And we will. I promise you.”, Alya said.

Before retiring to bed, Alya received a text from Nino saying that Adrien had agreed to a meeting in the library tomorrow before school started. Alya then shot off a text to Marinette, asking her to show up as well, then climbed into bed. She hoped it was not too late to fix the damage she’d caused to their friendship.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So Nino is in and will be bringing Adrien whilst Alya goes to Marinette to apologise and get her in on the action. Shall we see Mt. Cesaire blow her top when she learns what Lila has been doing to her BFF, or will something else happen?


	4. Chapter Four

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Alya apologises to Marinette, who forgives her but also makes it clear that the level of trust they once had is not the same and will require some work to get it back. She brings her to the library where Nino is waiting with Adrien and bring them up to speed on what they've found out and what they intend to do. Adrien is reluctant at first, still advocating the high road, but is horrified to realise that Lila was taking advantage of his approach to torment and bully Marinette. After a soothing group hug and light reprimand to grow a spine, Alya shows them both the video.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Shall note here that Adrien will not be demonised either. His advice, whilst poor in the context that we know, is sound from his point of view as his upbringing and personality means he tries to avoid conflict and Lila is careful to hide her true nature towards Marinette from him. So he gets a bit of a nasty wake-up call and a reprimand, but also learns his lesson that sometimes, you have to confront things because they'll never go away.

Next morning, Alya rose bright and early, gathering together some of her most incriminating notes to show Adrien and Marinette. Her parents noticed that she was somewhat quiet and asked what was wrong, but Nora interjected.

“Little sister’s got a lot on her plate. But she’ll show you when she’s ready.”, said the bigger girl.

Otis and Marlena Cesaire were good and understanding parents, and confident that their daughters would grow up to be good, strong and moral people. They noticed the conspiratorial looks exchanged by their daughters, the familiar fire in Alya’s eyes and smiled; they would be all right.

Alya wolfed her breakfast down quickly and set off for school at a brisk run, hoping to arrive at the Dupain-Cheng bakery before Marinette left so she could talk to her privately. Things had been a little icy between them on the subject of Lila, but now Alya knew the truth and she was going to make it up to Marinette if it was the last thing she ever did, if it took her the rest of her life even. She got there in pretty good time, stepping around the last of the morning rush to get to Mrs. Dupain-Cheng. She looked surprised to see her.

“Alya! What are you doing here so early?”, she asked.

“I wanted to see Marinette.”, Alya replied.

“Oh, that’s good. We think she’s missed having you around as often.”, said Mrs. Dupain-Cheng.

She had to tend to the customers, but Alya was welcome to go up. She did so hesitantly, treading on familiar and yet unfamiliar ground. She clutched her bag tightly, feeling the weight of the precious documents within and her phone nestled among them, as she ascended the steps to the living room. Mr. Dupain-Cheng was there, rummaging around for something, and beamed upon seeing her.

“Oh! Alya! It’s been a while!”, he said.

He was a very big man, larger even than Adrien’s hulking gorilla of a bodyguard, but gentle as a lamb for the most part. His moustache, hands and apron were dusted with flour, making him look somewhat ghostly. 

“What can I do for you?”, he asked.

“I’m wondering if I could see Marinette?”, Alya asked.

“Do you need to ask?”, Tom asked her.

Alya inhaled sharply; Marinette must not have talked too much about the whole Lila thing.

“We’ve been a little….. distant, lately. I wanted to know if it was OK before I overstepped anything.”, she said.

“Oh. I see. Well, I’m sure she’ll be happy to see you.”, Tom replied.

He turned and looked up at the hatch that led to the attic bedroom where Marinette slept.

“Marinette! There’s someone to see you!”, he called.

“Who is it?”, Marinette’s voice called back.

“It’s Alya. Can she come up?”, Tom called.

There was silence for about a minute, then Marinette’s voice came back slightly hesitantly.

“OK. Just a second.”, it said.

A minute later, the hatch opened and Marinette beckoned her up. Alya was aware of Tom’s eyes on her back as she ascended the stairs, but Marinette closed the hatch once she was up so her dad couldn’t see. Alya looked around at the room, seeing what was probably a new commission under a sheet but otherwise noting that it was exactly the same. Marinette went over to her chaise lounge and sat down on it.

“So, what brings you here? Did Lila say something else about me?”, she asked.

She sounded so sad and resigned, like she was expecting Alya to let fly with some accusation or tell her to just let go of her ire with the Italian girl. Judging by the startled squeak she emitted when Alya sat down and glomped her, she wasn’t expecting that.

“What?”, she managed to utter.

“You were right, girl. You were right about her.”, Alya said.

Marinette looked at her in surprise, but Alya’s eyes were shining with so many tears that the words “I told you so” died unspoken on her lips. Marinette was completely entitled to saying it, as well as pushing Alya away and refusing to talk to her ever again. But she did none of these things; instead, she leaned in and hugged her best friend back. Tears flowed freely from both girls, divided by hate and spite and now reunited.

“I’m sorry.”, Alya said.

“It’s OK.”, Marinette replied.

“No, it’s not. I should have listened to you from the beginning. You’re my BFF, and I listened to Lila over you. I was the one in the wrong, not you.”, Alya said.  
Marinette winced slightly and put a hand to her ribs, as though they hurt in some way, but Alya did not notice.

“I was such an idiot. I posted information whose source I hadn’t verified, even though I always say a journalist always checks her sources.”, she was saying.

“Alya, please. I forgive you, more or less.”, Marinette said.

“More or less?”, Alya asked slyly.

“I’m relieved that you’ve realised I was telling the truth. Just….. promise me you’ll listen to me next time and not dismiss it as jealousy, OK?”, Marinette replied.

“Deal.”, Alya said.

And they shook hands.

“Alya, I don’t really blame you for falling for it. We live in an age of superheroes and magic, so Lila’s stories aren’t immediately unbelievable. But I was only trying to say that you shouldn’t take it at face value. Look into it or ask her to clarify. That’s what I was aiming for.”, Marinette said.

“I know, girl. I promise. But there’s something else we need to talk about.”, Alya said.

“What?”, Marinette asked.

Alya’s phone dinged and she yelped as she saw the text from Nino.

“Something in the library at school five minutes ago!”, she said.

After a hurricane of getting ready, both girls were out of the bakery and dashing up the steps of College Francoise Dupont. This early in the morning there were only a few students, bleary-eyed and pale, and the teachers. Miss Mendeleiev shouted at them for running, but without her morning coffee could not summon the energy to chase them. Bursting into the library, they found it deserted save for Nino and a very confused Adrien, at the sight of whom Marinette balked.

“Girl, this is not me trying to set you up with him. This time.”, Alya said as an afterthought.

“Then what is it about?”, Marinette asked.

“I asked Nino to bring him.”, Alya replied.

She still made Marinette sit in the chair next to Adrien, leaving her and Nino sitting opposite them like interrogators. Adrien gave Marinette a reassuring smile, which caused the girl to melt into a puddle, before turning to Alya.

“Nino didn’t tell me what was going on, so I’m a little confused.”, he said.

“It’s best heard from Alya, dude.”, Nino said.

Alya cleared her throat and brought her bag up onto the table.

“We know about Lila and her lies. I found out yesterday.”, she said.

Marinette looked cheerful, but Adrien was apprehensive.

“I thought we agreed we were going to take the high road?”, he said to Marinette.

“Wait, what?”, Alya said.

“What?”, Adrien said, confused.

“What you just said. Did you know Lila was a liar?”, Alya asked.

There was an accusatory tone in her voice, mixed with anger and disgust. If Adrien knew Lila was lying, why didn’t he say anything.

“I did know, yes, but-”, Adrien began.

“But? But nothing! You knew she was lying and you didn’t tell people? Why?”, Alya thundered.

Nino was looking apprehensive now as well. He was Adrien’s best friend, but he wasn’t going to get in the way of Alya with a full head of steam. The blond model looked startled at the vitriol.

“Marinette told me, said we should expose her, but I told her it was a bad idea. It ran the risk of her getting akumatised again, like the Volpina incident. I said we should just wait for her to expose herself.”, Adrien said.

“So that was taking the high road, was it?”, Alya snapped.

“I guess. I mean, I didn’t want to cause conflict, and her lies weren’t hurting anyone.”, Adrien replied.

“They were.”, Marinette said.

She was staring at a bookcase but her eyes were unfocused, like she was elsewhere inside her head. All three turned to look at her.

“What do you mean, Marinette?”, Adrien asked.

“Her lies were hurting someone. Me.”, Marinette replied.

She turned to look at him.

“She never did it when you were around, because she wanted to impress you and she knows you’re my friend, but whenever you weren’t here she’d say things. Nasty things.”, she said.

“What……. what kind of things?”, Adrien asked.

“Lots of things. She’d make waspish remarks or backhanded compliments, subtly call attention to certain things that she presented in a less than savoury light. She’d get me to say things or pretend I’d done things that had hurt her, accusing me of bullying and discrimination.”, Marinette said.

She blew her nose on a tissue.

“I tried to follow your advice and not call her out, but she wouldn’t stop. I wasn’t sure how much more I could take and then she threatened me.”, she went on.

Alya inhaled sharply and Adrien and Nino exchanged shocked looks.

“She threatened you? Where? How?”, Alya demanded.

“The first time was in the bathroom. She threatened to make sure I lost all my friends and ended up all alone unless I fell in line and didn’t question her. When I wouldn’t back down, she told me that we were at war and I would lose everything.”, Marinette said.

Her voice was breaking and her shoulders shook as she suppressed tears. Adrien was looking like he’d been slapped, Nino’s mouth hung open and Alya was breathing like an enraged bull. More to add to the “List of Reasons to Destroy Lila Rossi”, it seems. Then Adrien did something very surprising. He leaned over and pulled Marinette into a hug. She was so upset that she couldn’t even summon a reaction to jerk away from him. Adrien held her as tears began to pour down his own face.

“I’m so sorry, Marinette. I never would have told you that if I knew. I just thought it was some harmless fibs, I didn’t know she was actually bullying you.”, he said.

Alya and Nino, hearts melting, walked around the table and enveloped their best friends in hugs, making it a group hug. Adrien smiled in spite of himself; he liked this. 

“I understand, bro. I do. You’re a nice guy and you hate confrontation, which is good. But sometimes, you need to stand up to things regardless of consequences.”, Nino said.

“I know. I was just scared, scared that everyone would turn on me and Hawk Moth would do something bad.”, Adrien replied.

“It’s OK. You know now, you’ve learned what to do.”, Nino told him.

“I know. But, what do I do about Lila? She keeps worming her way into my presence, and she won’t leave me alone.”, Adrien said.

He lifted up his shirt sleeve and they gasped; there were several bruises on it, finger shaped and even a few that looked like nail marks. Lila was very possessive of Adrien, and his lack of reception to her advances made her very clingy. More mouths opened in shock.

“Jesus, dude! That’s……. that’s awful! Really awful!”, Nino said.

“My poor Adrien.”, Marinette mumbled, tracing the markings.

“Oh, my……”, Alya said, snapping a picture as evidence.

Adrien looked miserable; he lived a life that was so strictly regimented that he craved any affection, but this was too much for him. It was hurting him.

“Haven’t you told anyone, dude? This could count as sexual harassment!”, Nino said.

“No, I- wait, can it?”, Adrien asked.

“Yep. Sexual harassment isn’t a women-only crime, though it’s harder for men to get results.”, Alya said, having read up on that.

Hug broken up and one more thing added to the list, Alya returned to her seat and brought up her phone.

“But there’s more. And it’s worse.”, she said.

“Worse? What could be worse than Lila threatening Marinette?”, Adrien asked.

“You’d be surprised.”, Nino said in a bitter undertone.

Alya brought up the video.

“I was filming the akuma attack yesterday, and I got an……. interesting perspective. See for yourself, but I warn you that it’s not pleasant.”, she said.

She handed them the phone. Adrien took it and pressed play, both leaning in to watch it with their heads almost touching. They saw some pretty good shots of the battle, and there was a shot of Chat Noir’s ass that Marinette couldn’t help but admire, but then it went to the big finale. Ladybug positioned herself whilst Chat Noir took on the akuma, then the camera panned up to the mezzanine where Lila could be seen pushing the wall down onto Ladybug and then standing there to gloat. The video went on for a bit longer and then cut out.

“There. Now do you believe that it’s worse?”, Alya asked.

Neither Marinette nor Adrien said anything. Marinette’s hand went to her ribs unconsciously, a hollow look on her face. She knew Lila had a grudge against Ladybug for the book thing, but to go so far as to attempt murder……. Ladybug was the only thing that ensured Paris was not a devastated wasteland after every akuma. Was Lila so petty that she would see that ended because of a grudge? She felt sick; she couldn’t breathe. The air was spinning.

“Adrien? Adrien?”, Nino asked, in a scared voice.

Adrien had gone chalk white and stock still, staring at the blank screen without seeing it. He didn’t even seem to be breathing. Nino reached out nervously to poke him, see if he could get a reaction, and then Adrien moved. The phone hit the tabletop with a clatter, making Alya wince, and his chair went skidding back so hard that it fell over with a loud thud. Adrien stood up and the look on his face was terrible to behold.

“SHE DIES!”, he thundered.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Adrien's reaction should surprise you all, or even please you depending on how you view his character. I think that he has a pretty long fuse and can take whatever crap life throws at him, but will NOT tolerate it if it targets those he cares about. And seeing Lila try and murder Ladybug? Well........


	5. Chapter Five

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> After calming Adrien down, the four plan to expose Lila to the rest of the class, involving Adrien demonstrating surprising skill with weaving a revenge plot together and why Marinette should NEVER be pushed to the brink.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Adrien and Marinette are both lovely people in general, if a bit flawed, and such people should never be pushed too far. Ever.

Adrien Agreste never shouted. He never yelled. He never screamed. And now he was doing all of them. It was terrifying to behold and all three of them had no doubt that he really would kill Lila if he got the chance. Nino barely managed to get between the enraged model and the door before he went and did something illegal.

“Adrien! Dude, wait! I understand you’re angry, but killing Lila won’t solve anything.”, he said.

“Well…..”, Alya muttered behind them.

“Not helping, dudette!”, Nino yelped.

Adrien’s reaction had distracted them from Marinette, who was staring at the phone on the table with a dark look. The sickened feeling at seeing Lila try and kill her, or at least sabotage her in the middle of an akuma battle, had faded to a dull ache, replaced instead with cold fury. Marinette had always believed people were basically good, but Lila had shaken that belief to the core. She was not misunderstood or anything; she was flatout evil. Ladybug’s Miraculous powers always fixed akuma damages, even restoring people who had died in the process of the attack; the loss of that would mean permanent death and destruction. Lila clearly did not care who she hurt, and would probably burn Paris to the ground and dance on the ashes if it meant getting rid of Ladybug. But now that she knew, Marinette had come to a decision. Noticing that Adrien was now fighting both Nino and Alya to get out and go after Lila, she slammed her fist down on the table loudly, causing them to jump.

“No.”, she said in a deadly whisper.

Now the other three were looking scared, because this was Marinette. She never got angry, certainly not to the degree of black fury burning in her eyes. Adrien recalled a quote from the author Patrick Rothfuss that he felt was a suitable epithet.

“There are three things all wise men fear: the sea in storm, a night with no moon and the anger of a gentle man.”

But the sight of Marinette in such rage was enough to bring him back from his own fury and Nino let him go, though watched him warily.

“No. We don’t kill her. We destroy her.”, Marinette said in that same tone.

“Not that I disagree, but how do we do that?”, Adrien asked.

“We expose her. Viciously. We tear apart every lie, every falsehood, every obfuscation she ever made and lay it bare for the world to see. By the time we’re done with her, nobody will believe she’s even Italian.”, Marinette told him.

Normally, Adrien would have advised against it and been horrified at the mere suggestion, but these were not normal circumstances and he agreed at once. Lila being akumatised no longer mattered if she was willing to attack Ladybug anyway.

“So, how do we go about it?”, Adrien asked.

“I’ve actually made a start there.”, Alya replied.

She brought out some of the proof she’d acquired last night. Inconsistencies abounded in Lila’s stories and many of the celebrities she claimed to know had routines and personalities that would make it impossible to know them so well. Marinette also pointed out that she actually knew Jagged Stone and Clara Nightingale and Adrien was familiar with many prominent names in the fashion industry, people who liked them and would be willing to provide assistance if they knew someone was exploiting their good name and fame for personal gain. Then Nino mentioned that Rose actually knew Prince Ali of Achu and could confirm with him if any of Lila’s stories were true. And that was where they met the potentially treacherous ground; their classmates.

“We have to tell them.”, Adrien said.

“Obviously, but the main concern is whether or not they’ll believe us.”, Marinette replied.

“We’ve got evidence.”, Nino chipped in.

“Yes, but a lot of it can be dismissed as mere circumstance or Lila could spin it as us getting with Marinette to bully her.”, Alya pointed out.

“We’ll need to get them on our side. What about the video?”, Nino asked.

The mention of the video caused Adrien to make a convulsive movement, flexing his fingers as though deploying claws, and Marinette to put a hand on her ribs. Even with superhuman strength, durability and magic healing, getting a wall dropped on you did not just go away, though it was fading to a dull ache. 

“Same problem. Lila could say it was faked.”, Marinette pointed out.

Alya looked affronted, finding the idea that she would ever fake a video as ludicrous. But that gave Adrien an idea.

“That’s where we ask Max if he can bring Markov.”, he said.

“The little robot who always follows him around? When does he not bring him?”, Alya asked.

“I know. But Markov is a highly advanced AI and he can’t lie. He can scan the video and prove it’s not faked.”, Adrien replied.

That was a good point and Alya looked at Adrien admiringly.

“Wow. There is a brain beneath those blond locks after all.”, she said.

“Mee-owch! You wound me!”, Adrien chuckled.

The cat pun was a bit out of nowhere, but whilst Alya and Nino just laughed and brushed it off, Marinette froze like a hunted rabbit. She’d heard that pun before, only a few days ago, from….. Chat Noir. Could Adrien be……? No. No, of course not. Adrien was polite and charming and Chat Noir was……… cheeky and brash and reckless. A far cry.

“Anyway, we’re agreed that we have to tell them. Lila told me she knows Steven Beiselberg and could introduce me. I know that’s not true, but the others don’t. What if they ruin their chances because they listen to Lila instead of doing it themselves?”, Nino pointed out.

“Yes. She’s already hurt all of us in some way. We’re not letting her hurt our friends.”, Marinette agreed.

They decided that the best way to get everyone on their side was to show them the video and get Markov to verify it as the real deal. All of the class had been saved by Ladybug at some point in some form and loved her dearly; seeing the video would probably cause a riot.

“Alya and I will keep working on the plan. In the meantime, Nino and Adrien should get everyone in the class and tell them we need to show them something important.”, Marinette said

“I can ask Chloe if we can borrow the auditorium at the Grand Paris Hotel.”, Adrien said.

“Good venue, but are you sure about Chloe?”, Alya asked.

“She hates Lila and is a huge fan of Ladybug. I might have to talk her out of hiring someone to ‘take care’ of her after the video, but we’ll get her wealth and influence on our side.”, Adrien said.

“OK, good. We also need to make sure Lila doesn’t find out.”, Alya said.

The bell rang at that moment and they got up to go to class. Adrien was fiddling with the silver ring he wore on his right hand, unsure of how he would react when he saw Lila. Probably transform and Cataclysm her sorry hide, but that would be too quick. Or would it? Maybe he could regulate the pace of the destruction, which he made a mental note to ask Plagg about. When they entered the classroom, however, there was no sign of Lila. Breathing a sigh of relief, they proceeded to their usual seats. Alya turned round in hers and looked at Nathaniel, who shared a desk with Lila.

“Where’s Lila?”, she asked.

She had thought it best that she be the one to ask, as the class assumed they were still friendly. Nathaniel shrugged noncommittally, engrossed in his drawing, so Alya looked at Rose, after Marinette the main social butterfly of their class. 

“Oh, Alya! Lila’s not coming in today! The akuma yesterday made her sprained wrist even worse and she’s in such awful pain!”, the blonde girl cried.

And she sobbed into a tissue, provided by a long-suffering Juleka from a box on her desk. Alya fought separate urges to roll her eyes and punch the air; with Lila off today, they wouldn’t need to worry about her catching on. She looked at Adrien, who sidled out of his seat and went over to Chloe, who looked up eagerly from her phone. Adrien whispered something in her ear, making a frown appear.

“What? And why would I do that, Adrikins?”, she asked.

“Because I’m asking. Please, Chloe?”, he asked.

He tried puppy-dog eyes for good measure and Chloe balked; this was not typical Adrien. Very interesting.

“OK, OK. Just, stop with the creepy behaviour.”, she said.

And she stood up, clapping her hands to get their attention.  
“Hello, losers! By request of Adrikins here, you’re all invited to my daddy’s hotel today for a special occasion.”, she said.

The class stared at her like she’d gone mad, but Adrien nodding encouragingly convinced them that nothing was afoot. Regarding them, anyway. Adrien gave the thumbs-up to his allies; phase one in progress with no issues…… until Rose pulled out her phone.

“Ooooh! Let me text Lila to let her know! She won’t want to miss out on this!”, she squealed excitedly.

“NO!”, shrieked Alya, tackling the phone out of Rose’s grip.

She’d gotten it just in time, but now everyone was staring at her like she’d gone mad. Oops.

“I mean, we don’t want Lila to know about it.”, she said with a nervous giggle.

“Why not?”, asked Kim.

“Because…….”, Alya said, trying to come up with something.

But once again, Adrien proved he was cleverer than he let on.

“Because it’s meant to be a surprise for her!”, he said.

“What?”, several people muttered.

“Yeah. Me and Marinette came up with the idea. It’ll make Lila feel welcome and appreciated despite all her disabilities and Marinette wants to make up for being so hostile.”, he said.

Marinette was mercifully quick on the uptake.

“Yeah! I mean, I guess I was just jealous of Lila for being so awesome!”, she said.

She ground her teeth at that but kept going.

“And I wouldn’t be much of a class representative if I didn’t do something nice for everyone, would I?”, she said.

That seemed to convince the class, who began talking amongst themselves excitedly. Marinette went up to Max, who had been arguing with his boyfriend Kim over whether or not to bring their trunks for a dip in the hotel pool.

“Oh, Max?”, she asked.

“Yes, Marinette?”, he replied, slightly nervously.

“Would you mind bringing Markov? I’d like him to help me with video quality.”, she said.

“O-Of course.”, Max said, now a bit confused.

Only Chloe did nothing, except lean in towards Adrien.

“I don’t know what you have in mind, Adrikins, but whatever it is better be worth it.”, she said.

“Oh, don’t worry, Chloe. It will.”, Adrien said.

He looked over at Alya, Nino and Marinette, who gave him impressed nods, and grinned a grin that would put the Cheshire Cat to shame.

“It will.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So phase one is in motion, gain allies. Alya managed to keep Rose from unwittingly exposing the whole thing and Adrien and Marinette are scarily devious. 
> 
> I should state for the record that I don't like Chloe very much and feel she was a poor hero, even if she enjoyed being Queen Bee, but have included her in the plot because she knows how to dig up and dispense dirt and will happily jump into anything that'll end badly for Lila.


	6. Chapter Six

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The class are officially brought in on the secret, and plans are put into action.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I should state that again, there will be no demonisation of characters here. We all know who's getting the sharp end of the stick eventually. But who will be holding the stick? That is the question.

It was with much confusion that the members of Miss Bustier’s class arrived at the Grand Paris Hotel that evening. The doorman who let them in seemed confused as well, muttering audibly that “Miss Bourgeois has no friends” as they passed. By eight o’clock, the whole class had arrived and were assembled in the luxurious auditorium, which had been reserved for them at Chloe’s request. Nino and Adrien were sitting up on the stage, looking apprehensive, but there was no sign of Alya or Marinette. Then the doors opened and the two girls entered the room, both holding huge stacks of paper which they put down on the stage before stepping up to the podium.

“Evening, everyone.”, Marinette said.

There was a murmur of assent. Everyone was a bit impatient and irritable at wasting their Thursday night, especially since a few had deadlines to meet.

“I’m sorry to have dragged you all here. And I apologise, but we lured you here under false pretences.”, she said.

There was silence, then Kim suddenly sprang to his feet.

“I knew it! They’re going to kill us and replace us with clones!”, he cried.

Everyone looked at him, stunned and confused, whilst Max hid his face in his hands. He had told his boyfriend there was a less than 0.01% chance of it being a trap intended to kill them, but Kim could be a bit dim and jumped to the most outlandish conclusions sometimes. Marinette recovered first.

“Um, no. It was not to kill you and replace you with clones. But it does concern Lila.”, she said.

More murmurs, then Alix stood up.

“Just get to the point already! I’m missing Xtreme Skaterz!”, she shouted.

Marinette nodded and surrendered the podium to Alya, who looked nervous.

“Right. The point is that Lila is not what we thought she was. All the things she’s told us about, the people she knows, the places she’s been, the ailments she suffers from, all of these are lies.”, she said.

There was silence as their brains processed this, then half the room erupted. Kim, Alix, Mylene, Ivan and Rose were all saying it was nonsense, Chloe was shouting that she knew it and Sabrina and Max were asking for proof. Juleka and Nathaniel remained silent, but it was clear they were giving it a lot of thought. Alya raised her hands, pleading for silence.

“Is this all a lie to bully her? Did Marinette set this up?”, Kim demanded.

“I did, but not for bullying. You all need to know the truth.”, Marinette replied.

“The truth? What is the truth?”, Alix demanded.

“Yeah. Do you have proof?”, Rose asked.

“We do. A fair amount of it, and Adrien and Nino believe us as well.”, Alya said.

Both boys stood up and there was silence as they saw the hard and angry look in their eyes, which neither had ever displayed before. 

“I know that Lila has led you to believe Marinette is jealous of her and bullying her. But none of it is true. And we have proof that Lila is not who you think she is.”, Adrien said.

“Who she really is? But she’s so sweet and nice! She goes everywhere, she rescued Jagged Stone’s kitten, she helps Prince Ali with his charities!”, Rose said.

“No, Rose. She doesn’t. And she’s not nice or sweet. Far from it.”, Nino said bitterly.

The blonde girl’s kind, blue eyes widened in shock and she looked to Juleka to help her out.

“Juleka, do you believe this? You know Lila.”, she said.

“Rose……. I do believe them.”, Juleka replied.

There was a deadly silence. Juleka stood up and swept her hair back, exposing her full face; this was serious. She was clearly petrified of speaking like this, but resolute nonetheless.

“At first, I did think Lila was really as nice and sweet as she seemed. But then we had that chemistry homework with Ms. Mendeleiev a few weeks ago.”, Juleka said.

They cast their minds back; Ms. Mendeleiev was, by her own admission, the strictest, crossest and most stubborn teacher in the school, like Professor McGonagall in a lab coat and heels instead of witch’s robes. Her classes didn’t love her like they did with Ms. Bustier, but they respected and feared her because she was determined to make them learn things and she took no nonsense from anyone; even Chloe didn’t push her luck with her. Before the lesson began, Lila had said that she hadn’t been able to do it because of an appointment she’d been attending the previous night and Ms. Mendeleiev had asked her for proof. Lila had burst into tears and sobbed at the insinuation of lying, but the teacher had remained firm.

“Ms. Rossi, the only things I want to see on my desk is either your chemistry homework or a note from your parents. If I see neither by the end of the lesson, you will receive detention for the next week. Am I understood?”, she had snapped.

Juleka looked down at her feet.

“Everyone was angry on Lila’s behalf, saying Ms. Mendeleiev was being unfair, but when I tried to give Lila a sympathetic smile, I saw her glaring at Ms. Mendeleiev and I……”, she trailed off.

The girl gave a muted sob and hid her face once again.

“I didn’t want to believe it, but she looked at her with such hatred that I wanted to run and hide. I never wanted that look directed at me.”, Juleka shuddered.

She slumped back in her chair and bowed her head, everyone staring at her. Kim and Alix looked slightly less sure of themselves now and Mylene was talking worriedly with Ivan. Rose was clearly torn between her loyalty to Lila and her affection for her clearly distressed girlfriend. Juleka never lied, but Lila seemed so nice. Alya decided it was time to drop the axe, but then another thing happened. Nathaniel stood up and did the same as Juleka, pushing back the bangs that hid half of his face. Alya noticed belatedly that he wasn’t alone; in the seat next to him was a boy she didn’t recognise, wearing a red hoodie and black fingerless gloves with nail polish. He patted Nathaniel’s hand comfortingly, which seemed to give the redhead confidence to speak.

“I’m not really sure what to think, but I do think Lila doesn’t always tell us the complete truth. She told me last month that she noticed how good I was at drawing and offered to get me a meeting with Stan Lee.”, he said.

Alya glanced at Marinette, who was writing it down. Now this was good. Stan Lee, the legendary founder and writer of Spider-Man and Marvel Comics, had been dead for some time. It seemed Lila did not bother to research properly or believed people to be exceptionally dumb. Nathaniel was still speaking.

“At first, I thought she’d made a mistake because he’s dead, but she was still telling me the same thing last week. I don’t know what to really think of any of this, but I wanted to say this because Lila may not be what we think she is.”, he finished.

And he sat back down. By now, there was quite a bit of muttering as the class discussed this amongst themselves. Fortunately, none of them were saying it was impossible; they just lacked evidence. The four on the stage shared enthusiastic looks as Chloe got to her feet.

“Look, as much as I’m enjoying hearing all of you speak, I’ve got a spa treatment in half an hour so can we move this along?”, she said impatiently.

Alya nodded and brought up the projector screen, showing the video ready to play. 

“This is footage I recorded yesterday of Ladybug and Chat Noir battling the akuma, and the main piece of evidence I wanted to show you.”, she said.

She looked over at Max.

“Markov. Do you have anything that can analyse a video and determine if it’s fake?”, she asked.

The little robot zipped up into view.

“Yes, ma’am. I am equipped with the latest in analysis software that will allow me to view it frame by frame and identify any evidence of tampering, editing or doctoring.”, he said.

“Good. Now, I warn you. This video has caused everyone I’ve shown it to to lose their shit, so to speak. I don’t expect this to be any different.”, Alya said.

“JUST PLAY THE DAMN VIDEO OR I’M GONNA LOSE MY SHIT RIGHT NOW!”, Alix stormed.

Alya jumped and hit play, scrambling over to Adrien, Nino and Marinette.

“I hope this convinces them.” she muttered.

“I hope they don’t break anything. Chloe will kill us.”, Nino replied.

The video played, showing the battle in the great detail Alya always sought to deliver to her viewers. Then it panned up to the mezzanine, showing the most important and shocking part of the video. They heard several sharp gasps, then silence after it had ended. Marinette, gulping, stepped up to the podium.

“And there you have it.”, she said nervously.

There was no response. Each and every face had turned ghostly white and jaws were slack with shock and horror. Even Chloe had nothing to say. Alya looked at Markov, hovering next to a paralysed Max.

“Markov, can you tell us if that video was real or a fake?”, she asked.

“Um…… based on my scans and frame-by-frame rundown, I can determine that the video is 100% real. There is no trace of forgery.”, the little robot replied.

That seemed to break the ice and the assembled teens exploded. Alix roared in rage and punched the glass case containing a fire axe, barely seeming to notice the pain that must have ensued from it. Rose had dissolved into sobs with Juleka’s arm around her shoulders. Kim had had a Hulk moment and torn his hoodie right off. Everyone else had dissolved into various stages of shock, grief and anger. Nathaniel had turned pale and was shaking with some undetermined emotion; Ivan had his arms wrapped around an inconsolable Mylene whilst he seemed to fight the urge to crush something; and Chloe was on her feet, spitting out threats and swears in equal measure. The class had turned from unsure of where to stand to baying for Lila’s blood within moments. At first it was deemed wise for them to let out their rage, but when a few got up and stormed towards the doors, that was when Alya and Marinette decided to take charge.

“SHUT IT!”, shrieked Marinette.

That stopped them all cold; Marinette screaming in absolute anger? Now the world really had gone mad. Alix was the first to recover.

“I guess we owe you an apology for not believing you.”, she said.

Marinette held up a hand.

“That can wait. First, we deal with Lila.”, she said.

Alix, Kim, Chloe and Ivan immediately made for the doors again.

“But not YET! And not in a way that involves hacking her to death so drop that axe, Alix!”, Marinette said.

Alix reluctantly dropped the fire axe she’d grabbed out of the broken case. Rose brought her head up out of her arms, sniffling.

“I can’t believe Lila would do that.”, she said.

“None of us can. It doesn’t make any sense for her to hate Ladybug.”, Max replied.

“Unless she’s a psycho.”, Kim supplied, unabashedly bare-chested.

“Well, yes. Could you put something on? Your toned chest is messing with my thought processes.”, Max told him.

Alix tossed Kim the fire blanket and he made himself comparably decent. 

“Anyway, you’ve all seen the proof that Lila is a bad person. Unfortunately, that’s not the end of it.”, Marinette said.

She turned the floor over to Alya.  
“I don’t know how many of you can lip-read, but I’m sure Markov will confirm that after pushing the wall onto Ladybug, Lila can be seen to say “My gift to you, Hawk Moth.”, she said.

Everyone looked at the little robot.

“She is right. Specifically, she says “This is what you get, Ladybug. My gift to you, Hawk Moth.”, he said.

Alya let the implications of that sink into their minds for a second.

“I’m sure you’ve all worked out that, based on that statement, Lila is likely working for Hawk Moth in some form, perhaps as a spy or agent.”, she said.

Many of her classmates had gone pale, or paler in Nathaniel’s case, as they put it together. Lila was deliberately working for Hawk Moth, without an akuma? This raised serious issues that needed to be brought to the attention of the authorities. Akumatised victims were not prosecuted because they generally were not responsible for their own actions, but Hawk Moth had been legally declared a terrorist and threat to national security. If Lila was working for him, proof of that would see her expelled from the country at the very least, possibly even prosecuted and incarcerated in a juvenile detention facility. It could also badly damage relations between France and Italy if the child of the latter’s senior ambassador to the former was working with Hawk Moth. The implications were staggering.

“So, what do we do? We can’t just let her get away with this!”, Kim said.

“She’s dangerous. She could hurt or kill us all if she knew about this.”, Juleka pointed out.

“What else is she up to that we don’t know about? And how do we take her down?”, Alix asked.

“We’ve actually gotten started in that regard.”, Marinette said.

She indicated the piles of paper she and Alya had brought in.

“We’ve come up with a plan to, pardon my language, tear that bitch apart.”, Alya said.

She pressed a button on the remote and slides of some of her most recent research appeared.

“After I shot that video, I realised that Lila probably had been lying. So I investigated, like a true reporter does. And I found a lot.”, she continued.

Slides of information on celebrities, locations and injuries and medical conditions flashed across the screen.

“Now that we all know, Marinette, Nino, Adrien and I have come up with a plan and assigned everyone roles in it.”, she said.

“A plan? Can’t we just tell the authorities? I mean, Sabrina’s dad’s a cop and Chloe’s the mayor’s daughter.”, Mylene pointed out.

“We’ll get to that. But our plan is not just to expose Lila, but to utterly destroy her. To do that, we need every scrap of evidence we can get that proves she’s nothing more than a lying, evil cunt.”, Marinette spat.

Everyone looked at her in amazement; Marinette never swore. But then again, a lot of unlikely things happened these days.

“Fine. I’m in.”, Kim said.

“Me too.”, Alix seconded.

“And me.”, Ivan said.

All of them were firmly on board; this bitch was going down. Alya picked up some of the papers and descended from the stage with Adrien and Nino whilst Marinette resumed her place at the podium.

“We’ve assigned each of you a specific topic to research, to find evidence of Lila’s lies. Find whatever you can, note it down and bring it to us. We’ll handle the rest.”, she said.

Alya approached Alix and Kim.

“You two are sports. Lila’s bragged about sports achievements and knowing famous athletes. Dig up anything you can.”, she said.

“You can count on me.”, Alix said.

“Bet I find more than you.”, Kim said.

“Oh, you’re on!”, Alix replied.

“Usual wager?”, Kim asked.

“You read my mind.”, Alix retorted.

Alya rolled her eyes, but knew they wouldn’t let their bet interfere too much with their task. Next was Max and Markov.

“You guys are science. Same deal.”, she said.

“You can count on us 100%!”, Max said.

“I shall operate at maximum capacity to ensure success!”, Markov crowed.

Rose was assigned to research Lila’s supposed charity work, starting with Prince Ali’s causes for sick children. The sweet-natured blond’s usual demeanour had given way to a scarily cold fury as she took the sheet.

“I’ll get right on it!”, she said, with a deadly tone.

Ivan and Juleka were assigned to music and Mylene to acting and theater. Like Rose, there was a dangerous glint in Mylene’s eye as she took her sheet. Next, Alya turned to Nathaniel and the mystery boy.

“Before I give it to you, it might help if I knew your name.”, she said to him.

He looked at his feet, obviously very shy. He had a sweet face, though, and was clearly a kind soul. At Nathaniel’s silent urging, he managed to make eye contact.

“My name is Marc. Marc Anciel. I work with Nathaniel to write our Ladybug comic.”, he said quietly.

For the first time, Nathaniel smiled. He pulled Marc into a one-armed hug.

“He’s far too modest. He’s also my boyfriend, and the sweetest boy I’ve ever met.”, he said.

Marc smiled in response. Alya fought the urge to squee at how cute they were together for the sake of the plan.

“Wonderful! You two can work together on this. Marc, you can handle artists and writers; Lila’s boasted of meeting a few and inspiring others.”, she said.

“OK.”, Marc said shyly, taking the sheet with trembling fingers.

“What about me?”, Nathaniel asked.

“Your parents are doctors, right? Work at the big hospital?”, Alya asked him.

Nathaniel looked slightly uncomfortable; his parents didn’t entirely approve of his desire to become an artist, instead wanting him to follow in their footsteps. If he asked them anything medical, they might think he was becoming interested and he didn’t want to lead them on. However, his love for Ladybug and her heroics won out and he nodded.

“Yes.”, he said.

“Good. I want you to follow up on this list of Lila’s supposed conditions. You don’t have to hack her medical records or anything, just verify their seriousness and what she should have or should be doing if she really had them.”, Alya said.

“I will.”, the redhead replied.

As she moved away, Alya heard Marc whisper to Nathaniel.

“She scares me.”, he said.

“Alya? She’s got a forceful personality, but she won’t hurt you. Besides, I’ll protect you.”, Nathaniel replied.

She heard Marc giggle adorably, and turned in time to see them kiss each other lightly on the lips. They were so cute together it was painful! She turned to Sabrina.

“Sabrina, your job is to learn about the law. Find out every law Lila’s breaking, what the punishment is, anything and everything. And let your dad know when the time is right.”, she instructed.

“I will. And I’ve also gotten an internship at the Italian embassy next week, so I can observe Lila’s mother and be in a position to let her know everything we’ve found out.”, Sabrina replied.

“Ooooh, acting on your own initiative! Girl, I like that!”, Alya said.

Finally there was Chloe, who had finished her hissy fit but was still breathing like she’d just run a race.  
“Just this once, Cesaire. Just this once.”, she said.

“Fine. Your job is to get your parents on-side. Your father will be very interested to hear that Lila could be working with a known terrorist. Lila has also claimed that she’s given fashion advice to your mother. Perhaps you can let that be known.”, Alya said.

Chloe looked incredulous for a second, then burst into laughter.

“She’s said that? About my mother? That girl has no idea just what kind of hell is coming for her.”, she snorted.

"What about Ladybug and Chat Noir? Should we tell them?", asked Rose.

Marinette was oddly quiet and tense for a second, as was Adrien, then smiled.

"Oh, don't worry. I'll make sure they find out.", she said with a hard certainty.

Finally, Alya outlined what she, Nino, Adrien and Marinette would be doing. In addition to collating all collected information, Alya would be investigating Lila’s supposed connections in journalism and liaising with Nadja Chamack to break the story on the news whilst Marinette would contact the celebrities she knew and try and secure their help. Adrien would do the same with the fashion contacts he knew and Nino would investigate film and TV connections. Everyone had a part to play, and play it they would. A symphony of Lila’s demise, you could say. Before leaving, Mylene pointed out that they didn’t have a name for their plan, which was solved by, of all people, Marc.

“Operation: Crumbling Down is officially go!”

Indeed it is.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And so the class is aware of what Lila really is and are on the warpath. Each has been assigned a specific task to do in order to bring the plan to fruition. Adult authorities like Mayor Bourgeois and Officer Raincomprix will be brought in because Lila is a serious threat to the safety of Paris, but first we will bring the pain. Alya will also show the video to Nadja at some point and bring Paris' best well-known reporter in on the secret, maybe impressing her enough to earn a few cred points with her.
> 
> Sabrina will be well-placed to alert both her father and Lila's mother when the time is right, but will use her abilities to go unnoticed to gain valuable information on the sly. I assigned each classmate a task that corresponds well to their personalities, interests or abilities for maximum efficiency, with the exception of Nathaniel who got tweaked a little bit.


	7. Chapter Seven

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Switching to the POV of Ladybug and Chat Noir as they talk about Lila whilst trying not to drop any massive hints about their true identities. Their role in the plan and how they'll also help it along.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Should state here that I'm not sure if this will be a reveal fic or not. The events of Cat Blanc showed me the great potential for danger in it and it's not something I have an extreme opinion on at the moment. Apologies if that disappoints anyone.

Ladybug sat on the top of the Palais de Luxembourg, her legs kicking idly as she watched the expansive gardens spread out beneath her like a map. She was waiting for her partner to arrive for a serious conference, her mind buzzing with the incident to be discussed. As she waited, she decided to run through her history lessons on the palace to keep herself amused. Built in the 1600s on the orders of Queen Marie de’ Medici, it had been modeled off the Palazzo Pitti of her birth city of Florence and intended as her royal residence. Over the course of the Revolution, it had been converted into a prison and then served briefly as Napoleon’s first residence when he became First Consul of France. During the Nazi occupation of France, the palace had been seized as the headquarters of the Luftwaffe, with Hermann Goring taking possession of several grand suites for his own use, and after the war had become the seat of the French Senate, which it continued to serve as today. 

The gardens were open to the public and were popular with couples seeking a romantic stroll, particularly at night. She heard the cheerful singing of Andre the ice cream man somewhere in the gardens and smiled wistfully; she would enjoy a romantic stroll with ice cream any day, but only with one boy.

“You seem happy, Milady.”

Ladybug almost jumped off the roof in fright, letting out a startled yelp. Whirling around, she glared indignantly at her grinning partner, who had seen fit to arrive at that moment. She had to have been distracted if she hadn’t heard him.

“Thinking of me, Bugaboo?”, he asked flirtatiously.

“Well, I was thinking of punting you off the roof right now.”, Ladybug replied.

“That’s OK. I’ve been practising landing on my feet.”, Chat Noir replied.

She shook her head; her partner’s proclivity for jokes got on her nerves sometimes. 

“Leaving that aside, I called you here because of a serious situation.”, she said.

All evidence of joking vanished from Chat Noir at once; he knew that she was being deadly serious right now, and that was rare.

“What is it? Another lead on Hawk Moth?”, he asked.  
“No. It’s even worse than Hawk Moth.”, Ladybug hissed.

“What could be worse than Hawk Moth?”, Chat Noir asked.

“Lila Rossi.”, Ladybug replied.

She expected Chat Noir to react with confusion or disbelief, so she was surprised when he let out a noise very much like an angry cat and clenched his fists so hard she heard the leather gloves creak in protest. A furious snarl etched it’s way across his face and for a moment she felt fear, seeing just how scary and dangerous her partner could be if he wasn’t such a good soul.

“Chat Noir?”, she asked.

“I know of……. her. I would call her a lying, deceitful snake but that would be an insult to snakes.”, he said.

“Then you’ve seen the video?”, Ladybug asked.

“I have.”, Chat Noir replied.

“How?”, she asked.

CHat Noir froze; he’d seen it in his civilian identity of course, but he couldn’t tell her that. She might guess who he really was. 

“A boy at that school where all the akumas seem to come from, Francoise Dupont, approached me earlier today with something. Adrien Agreste.”, he said.

“Adrien Agreste? You know Adrien Agreste?”, Ladybug asked incredulously.

“In a way. I can have friends other than you, you know.”, Chat Noir replied defensively.

“Of course, kitty. I’m just surprised, is all.”, Ladybug said.

“Well, he showed me a video a friend of his had shot of our battle, and it showed that Lila girl….. pushing a wall down onto you. I almost Cataclysmed his phone when I saw it.”, Chat Noir said.

His leather-clad frame was trembling with anger as he recounted. Ladybug laid a calming hand on his shoulder, making him purr slightly.

“You really are a simple kitten, aren’t you?”, she remarked with a smile.

“Only me, Milady. Where did you see this video?”, he asked.

“That girl who runs the Ladyblog, the one we had to save from the Pharaoh? Her friend, a girl called Marinette, showed me a video Alya had shot of our battle……. and which showed Lila pushing that wall onto me.”, Ladybug replied.

She ran a hand over her ribs, which had finally stopped aching, and saw that Chat Noir was looking at her in a funny way.

“What?”, she asked.

“Did that wall hurt you? Silly question, but I thought our suits protected us.”, he said.

“They do, but we’re not invulnerable. It’s only thanks to the suit that I ended up with only slightly bruised ribs and a minor concussion.”, Ladybug replied.

She let that sink in. Without the suit’s protection, or if it wasn’t as advanced, she would likely have been badly injured or even killed, and where would that leave everything? Chat Noir took a deep breath, bringing his temper under control.

“I should have warned you about her after Oni-Chan, but I didn’t think she’d be any more dangerous. Oh, by the Miraculous, I was a fool!”, he exclaimed.

“Warned me? What do you mean? And what happened with Oni-Chan?”, Ladybug asked.

“You remember when we caught up to them and Lila said she was hurt, so I carried her to safety. Well, she wasn’t hurt. She just pretended to be so I would take her away and leave you alone with Oni-Chan.”, Chat Noir said.

Ladybug had gone as still as a marble statue at that and Chat Noir feared that he’d just caused her to lose all trust in him. Trying not to cry, he turned to leave.

“I’m sorry, Milady. I should have told you when it happened.”, he said.

He extended his staff to leave, but Ladybug grabbed his arm.

“Wait! Chat Noir, I’m not angry with you. A bit disappointed, maybe, but not angry.”, she said.

“But I could have gotten you killed!”, he protested.

“Maybe, but you had no way of knowing what Lila was really like. What she continues to be. You might be a superhero, but you’re still human and you make mistakes. But do you know what matters more, kitty?”, she asked.

“What?”, Chat Noir asked.

“What matters more is how we deal with them. You admitted yours to me when you could have kept it secret, and that is the first step.”, Ladybug replied.

Chat Noir looked at her for a moment, then he smiled. 

“I understand, Milady. So, what’s the next step?”, he asked.

“Fixing it. Marinette told me that she and her class are planning to expose Lila for what she really is, and that she’s likely working for Hawk Moth. She asked me if we’d be willing to help.”, Ladybug said.

Chat Noir grinned his Cheshire Cat grin.

“Does she even need to ask? I might be a superhero, but I won’t shield people from well-deserved karma.”, he said.

Ladybug smiled, a devious and crafty grin that he’d never seen her do before.

“Well then, I’ll be delighted to tell Marinette that Lila will soon have the holders of good and bad karma coming her way.”, she said.

Chat Noir held up his staff, thumbed through YouTube and played a video of stereotypical, cartoonish evil laughter. Ladybug was startled for a second, then burst out laughing.

“Chat! That’s so…….. appropriate!”, she laughed.

Seeing her laughing, genuinely laughing, at his awful humour warmed Chat Noir’s heart. She really did appreciate him, even if she was always coldly professional during business hours. 

“So, what’s our part in Operation: Crumbling Down?”, he asked.

“Wait, how do you know what it’s called?”, Ladybug asked, confused.

“Um, Adrien told me.”, Chat Noir replied quickly.

“Oh. I see.”, Ladybug said.

She looked thoughtful for a moment.

“Anyway, our part is mainly to remain on the alert for when Lila is revealed and investigate or find any leads that prove she’s working for Hawk Moth. But we’ve also got to debunk her lies that she knows us and is friends with us.”, Ladybug said.

“And how do we do that?”, Chat Noir asked.

“Simple. We go to Alya and give her an interview. You remember Oni-Chan, right?”, Ladybug said.

==================================================================

Alya Cesaire was buried deep in her work, researching everything she could find and adding it to her notes, when there was a knock on her window. Wait, her window? Her top-floor window? She reached under her desk for something to use as a weapon.

“Who’s there? I warn you, I’m armed!”, she said, trying to sound braver than she felt.

Two heads popped up outside the window and she yelped in shock, brandishing the egg whisk she’d found in a threatening manner. Then she relaxed as she recognised the masked faces of Paris’ resident superheroes.

“Can’t you two just use the door like a normal person?”, she asked as she let them in.

“We’re not normal people. We’re superheroes.”, Chat Noir replied, striking a pose.

“Be modest, Chat.”, Ladybug admonished him.

Chat Noir pouted, then looked confused as he caught sight of the egg whisk in her hand.

“What exactly were you going to do with that?”, he asked.

“Hm? Oh! Oh, this! Well, I thought you might be another akuma coming to sacrifice me to an ancient sun god or something, so I grabbed this.”, Alya replied.

“OK, fair enough. But, why do you have it in your room?”, Chat Noir asked.

“Oh! Um, no reason.”, Alya replied, tossing it away.

“But-”, Chat Noir began.

Ladybug put a hand on his shoulder.

“Kitty, sometimes it’s better not to ask because either it’s better not to know or the answer is so confusing you’ll wish you’d never asked.”, she said.

“Fair enough, Milady.”, Chat Noir replied.

Alya decided to intercede before it became anymore awkward than it already was.

“So, all of that aside, what can I help you with?”, she asked.

“We were told the truth about the wall incident, and who was behind it. We want to help you bring down Lila Rossi.”, Ladybug said.

“Purely in the interests of safeguarding Paris, of course.”, Chat Noir added.

“You mean you want me to interview you?”, Alya asked excitedly.

“Precisely. We’ve got a bit of dirt on Ms. Rossi ourselves, and her lies have not only risked our lives but the lives of every single person in Paris. Taking her down is what justice demands, but I’m not so high-and-mighty as to deny that I’ll get a bit of personal pleasure out of it as well.”, Ladybug said.

“Amen, Milady.”, Chat Noir muttered.

“Great. Let me just get my phone and set everything up.”, Alya said.

But as she went towards her bedroom door, it opened and Nora came in.

“Hey, little sister. I was wondering if you wanted any- INTRUDERS!”, she shouted.

Ladybug and Chat Noir might have had superhuman strength and reflexes, but Nora Cesaire had sisterly protection and the advantage of muscle mass and beating people up for a living rather than a hobby. Ladybug went flying as a jab caught her in the throat and Chat Noir got his feet swept out from under him and grabbed in a chokehold in the space of two seconds.

“Nora, wait! WAIT! It’s OK! It’s just Ladybug and Chat Noir!”, Alya cried.

“And you let them in here without letting me know? Little sister, you know better than that!”, Nora replied.

Ladybug pushed herself back up, looking very dazed, whilst Chat Noir spluttered under Nora’s arm.

“Sorry. We wanted to keep our visit low-profile, but maybe next time we’ll just ring the doorbell.”, she said.

“Probably best.”, Nora agreed.

“Yes. Now could you please release my partner before he asphyxiates?”, Ladybug asked.

“Hm? Oh, sure! Forgot he was there for a moment!”, Nora exclaimed, releasing him.

Chat Noir staggered away, rubbing his neck and gasping for breath.

“Next time, I’ll probably be wearing a neck brace!”, he gasped.

“Hah! Sorry about that, but my sister needs looking after and I found strangers in her room.”, Nora remarked.

“We just came over to talk about…….. something.”, Ladybug said.

“If you’re here to ask about that Lila girl, go for it. She’s a poisonous bug that needs to be squashed. No offence, Ladybug.”, Nora said.

“None taken.”, Ladybug replied.

“Well, you lot conduct your interview. I just came in to ask if you wanted some coffee and sandwiches.”, Nora said.

“That’d be nice, Nora.”, Alya replied.

Nora looked at the two slightly battered heroes.

“And you two? Or would you prefer greenflies and a bowl of milk?”, she joked.

“Coffee and sandwiches will be fine, thanks.”, Ladybug replied.

“How would I even eat greenflies, anyway?”, Chat Noir said.

Once they were fueled up, Alya set up her camera and sat in her desk chair, facing Ladybug and Chat Noir side by side on the bed.

“So, you guys ready to do this?”, she asked.

“Fire away.”, Ladybug replied.

Two more allies secured. Operation: Crumbling Down entering second phase.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ladybug and Chat Noir are now fully engaged and dishing up dirt on Lila, aiding the plan in both their civilian and superhero identities. 
> 
> Next chapter will see some of the classmates reporting on their discoveries, including a few unsavoury things from Lila's past, and dodging around Lila when she returns to school. Some will really have to work on their fake smiles.
> 
> Also plan on bringing in some other characters, including Luka and Kagami, and maybe some of the school faculty. 
> 
> And finally, I have no idea why Alya had an egg whisk in her bedroom.


	8. Chapter Eight

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Slight change of plans in that this is a Lila-centred chapter. Regrettably necessary, but the end of it should be reward enough for me having to inflict her on you.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I know I promised the next chapter would involved the class talking about what they'd gathered and maybe bringing in Luka, Kagami and some of the teachers, but this popped into my head and I decided it would fit better. I hate writing from Lila's point of view, since it makes me feel a persistent need to bathe, but acknowledge that it's necessary for the sake of balancing this fic out and cementing her as deserving of karma as possible.

Friday morning at College Francoise Dupont saw Lila Rossi arriving somewhat later than usual. She had decided to play up her injury, shifting it to a sprained ankle because the gullible morons in her class would never remember if it was her wrist or her ankle. She was also happy at the prospect of getting a new phone later, having had her old one broken in the akuma attack. Or so she had told her mother when she showed her the broken phone with a great crack in the screen, as though it had been thrown against a wall in rage after not finding what it’s owner was looking for on a certain blog.

She would be having a word with Alya about why her interview had suddenly vanished from the Ladyblog. A few crocodile tears here and there and it’d be restored with interest before the day was out. But Alya deserved to be punished for this little mistake, for daring to tread from the path Lila had set out. But how? How would she punish her? A malicious rumour? A sabotaged meal or project? Or maybe another wedge between her and Marinette? The possibilities were endless and she was smirking to herself the whole way there.

The rest of the class were already at school and convened in their classroom, with Sabrina keeping an eye out for Lila. All of them had made some progress on their assigned roles and were reporting back, though their material was to be saved until the next meeting tonight. Alya was bringing them up to speed on the interview with Ladybug and Chat Noir, a copy of which would be distributed to each of them at the meeting. Juleka had also been assigned to bring her brother Luka in and Adrien had contacted Kagami, and now they were debating whether or not to bring in some of the teachers. Ms. Mendeleiev would probably be willing, as long as she had proof, and Ms. Bustier and Mr. Damocles needed to know just how manipulative Lila was so they could work within the school dimension and report Lila’s innumerable absences and excuses to her mother. It might even be a wake-up call for them as professional educators, reminding them that THEY were supposed to investigate these things themselves rather than have them brought before them by their students. They liked them both, honestly they did, but their inability to act as they were supposed to was frustrating. 

“So, in short, everything is going our way so far.”, Alya summed up.

“Definitely.”, Adrien said.

“I just wanna get to the end.”, Nathaniel grumbled, looking more tired than usual.

“Patience, mon cher. Remember, the thrill is in the chase, never in the capture.”, Marc said.

“Stupid science fiction loving boyfriend who always says the right things.”, Nathaniel replied.

“Lila’s coming! She just entered the courtyard!”, Sabrina reported.

“Quickly! Places! And remember, we act natural.”, Alya ordered.

Everyone scrambled back to their seats, Marc reluctantly leaving the classroom after giving Nathaniel a kiss for luck, since the redhead shared a bench with Lila. Marinette reached into her bag and took out a piece of paper as she walked over to Alya’s desk, being sure to place it down on the surface just as Lila walked in.

“Hi, everyone!”, she exclaimed happily.

“Hi, Lila!”, everyone replied just as cheerfully.

“How are you feeling?”, Rose asked.

“Oh, aren’t you all so sweet, asking about me like this! I’m afraid I’m not all there, my sprained ankle is still giving me grief.”, she said.

Alya’s hands flew to her mouth.

“Oh dear! You’ve got a sprained ankle now as well as a sprained wrist! That’s just terrible!”, she exclaimed sympathetically.

Lila’s eyebrows flickered slightly in alarm as she registered the bit about her wrist; perhaps Alya wasn’t as dumb as she appeared. Then she caught sight of the paper Marinette had put down in front of Alya, as well as the cup of coffee placed precariously near it, and her mind at once put together a plan. 

“Is that something important, Marinette? Mind if I take a look?”, she asked.

As she reached for it, her hand ‘accidentally’ knocked the cup of coffee so that it fell over and the lid popped off, spilling it’s contents all over the desk and the paper. Her hands flew to her mouth in apparent shock, covering up a malevolent smirk.

“Oh! Oh no, I’m so sorry!”, she cried.

Alya and Marinette looked suitably annoyed, but this was part of the plan. 

“Oh no! And I was hoping to show off the design before the finished product!”, Marinette cried melodramatically.

“I know! And it was so nice of you, making this to apologise!”, Alya said.

Lila was very confused.

“What do you mean, apologise?”, she asked in confusion.

Marinette looked at her in grief.

“Alya talked to me yesterday about how my hostility towards you was really upsetting you, so I wanted to apologise with a surprise. That was the drawing for it.”, she said.

“Drawing? Of what?”, Lila asked suspiciously.

“Of a gift I made for you. I wanted to get Alya’s opinion on the design before I showed it off.”, Marinette sniffled.

She reached into her bag and took out a scarf, a lovely item made of white silk with what looked like Chinese writing embroidered along it’s length in black. 

“I made this for you as a peace offering. Adrien gave me some spare silk from one of his modeling things and I decided to use it for this. I call it a huan”, she said.

At the mention of it having been Adrien’s in some way, Lila practically snatched it from Marinette, remembering that she should say thank you for appearances sake a few seconds later.

“Thank you, Marinette! It’s lovely! I might even show it off to Madame Bijoux when next I see her!”, she said.

And she wrapped it around her neck. As much as she was loathe to admit anything of Marinette’s was nice, the quality of the material was excellent and the colour was highly complementary to her choice of attire. Plus, it was made from material that had once been Adrien’s. Marinette beamed.

“I’m so glad you like it! I hope this means there’s no hard feelings between us?”, she asked.

“Of course not.”, Lila replied, her fingers firmly crossed behind her back.

Ms. Bustier entered the classroom at that moment and Lila quickly headed to her seat for the lesson, sitting herself firmly next to Nathaniel and being too busy glaring at the back of Marinette’s head to notice the boy edge away from her slightly and kiss a photograph of Marc before assuming his usual pose.

“You think you can get me off your back with a scarf? Pathetic.”, she thought to herself.

Unseen by her, Alya, Marinette and Adrien all exchanged secret smiles. The scarf was certainly intended as a gift, but Lila had no idea of the symbolism behind it. The white silk was pretty and the black lettering very stark, but Lila knew not a word of Chinese and thus had no idea that she was wearing a scarf decorated over and over with the number four, the unluckiest number in China. Adrien’s Chinese lessons had proven very handy after all. After taking the register, Ms. Bustier called Lila’s name.

“Yes, Ms. Bustier?”, Lila asked.

“Ms. Mendeleiev asked me to send you to her this morning.”, the teacher replied.

“Oh? What for, Ms. Bustier?”, Lila asked innocently.

“That is her business, I’m afraid. Please go and see her.”, Ms. Bustier replied tartly.

The slightly irritated tone in Ms. Bustier’s voice was highly unusual and Lila realised she had no choice but to go. She made sure to accentuate her false limp as she left the class, but dropped it the moment she was out of the room. She muttered darkly to herself as she descended to the courtyard and walked to the science teacher’s classroom, cursing her because Ms. Mendeleiev was one of the very few here who Lila could not fool in the slightest. She’d have to do something about her if she continued to pose a threat; maybe some accusations to the school board, or a sabotaged experiment that put the entire school at risk. The thought made her smile as she knocked on the door.

“Come in!”, Ms. Mendeleiev’s voice snapped from within.

The science teacher was seated behind her desk, grading some papers. They looked important; maybe Lila could ‘accidentally’ spill something on them. But there was nothing spillable on the table. Ms. Mendeleiev looked over and saw her.

“Ah, Lila. Come in and shut the door.”, she said curtly.

When Lila had done so and was standing in front of Ms. Mendeleiev’s desk, the science teacher marked one last question, put down her pen and peered at Lila critically over the top of her glasses.

“I noticed you were absent from my class once again yesterday. This is the fourth time in a row, young lady, and I would like an explanation.”, she said.

“I’m sorry! I had a sprained wrist and a sprained ankle from the akuma on Wednesday and was in too much pain to come to school!”, Lila wailed.

“I see.”, Ms. Mendeleiev replied.

Lila could tell the woman did not believe her and decided to deflect blame.

“Marinette is always coming in late! More so than me!”, she protested.

“This is not about Marinette. And though she might always be late, at least she comes in and does the coursework which is somewhat mitigating.”, Ms. Mendeleiev snapped.

She adjusted her spectacles and exhaled sharply through her nose.

“Do you have a doctor’s note confirming this?”, she asked.

“No.”, Lila replied.

“A note from your parents then?”, Ms. Mendeleiev pressed.

“No.”, Lila replied, cursing this teacher.  
Ms. Mendeleiev huffed crossly, then pulled a piece of paper towards her and began to write on it.

“Ms. Rossi, I have been a teacher for over 20 years. I can tell when students are being honest with me and when they are not, and you have been screaming untruths ever since you arrived. I don’t know precisely what your deal is, but I assure you that I will not fall for it. I am issuing you with two weeks detention, this will go on your permanent record and if you miss class one more time without a suitable and verifiable explanation, I will personally contact your parents and bring this matter before them.”, she said.

“You can’t do that!”, Lila shrieked, stamping her foot.

“Oh, yes I can! I am your teacher. And I also happened to notice that you stomped your supposedly injured foot. Care to explain?”, Ms. Mendeleiev asked, raising one eyebrow.

Lila growled angrily, snatched the paper from Ms. Mendeleiev’s hand and stormed flat-footed from the room. She was so busy fuming over what had just happened, and preoccupied with thoughts of revenge on the science teacher, that she did not notice a walking blur of red until it collided hard with her, the coffee in their hand flying from the cup and splashing all over her. The one holding it, an oddly feminine-looking boy with black hair, a rainbow shirt and a smattering of makeup, looked shocked.

“Oh, my God! I’m so sorry! I was in a rush and I didn’t see you!”, he exclaimed.

“You clumsy idiot! Look what you’ve done!”, Lila shrieked.

And she pushed him hard with both hands, sending him falling to the ground and causing him to hit his head off the concrete.

“OW!”, the boy screamed.

Doors flew open all over the place and people emerged to see what the commotion was. Gasps and shouts ensued as they saw the boy lying on the ground and a coffee-splattered Lila standing over him. On the mezzanine above, Ms. Bustier’s class peered over the railings and gasped at what they saw.

“MARC!”, cried a highly distressed voice.

And then Nathaniel was there, running down the stairs and kneeling beside the boy on the ground, who sat up and put a hand to his head. He winced in pain and pulled his hand away, showing blood on his fingers.

“Oh, no!”, Nathaniel muttered.

Lila was aware of so many eyes on her, cold and angry and accusatory.

“It’s not what it looks like! He bumped into me and I-”, she began.

“SILENCE! Ms. Rossi, report at once to Mr. Damocles!”, Ms. Mendeleiev snapped.

“But-”, Lila tried to say.

“Now! In fact, we’ll go together, I think!”, Ms. Mendeleiev said.

She paused to examine Marc.

“He’s fine, more or less. Nathaniel, take him to the nurse and stay with him.”, she ordered.

“Yes, Ms. Mendeleiev.”, Nathaniel replied at once.

He shot a look of absolute rage at Lila as she was led past, whilst the rest of the class began to whisper amongst themselves at this new development.

“The noose is around her neck, all right, but did you expect it to start tightening this quickly?”, Alya asked Marinette.

“No. But I’m not complaining, except for poor Marc getting hurt.”, Marinette replied.

Yes, the noose was around Lila’s neck. But did she even realise it?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And so the end of the Lila chapter, for now. I hope the ending as well as Ms. Mendeleiev made up for having to endure Lila's poisonous venom trip of a mind at the beginning. 
> 
> The whole bit with the scarf is extremely symbolic and important. The number four really is considered deathly unlucky in China, to the extent that in many lifts you will not find any buttons for the fourth floor. The colours of white and black also hold significance in that bad luck is associated with both, white being the colour of mourning and death in Asia and black being associated with filth and uncleanliness. And even the name is important; in Chinese the word "huan" translates to, among other things, hangman's noose or a noose for suicide. As such, the use of the word, which Marinette would have learned from Adrien or her Chinese heritage, is meant to establish both Lila's impending comeuppance and the fact that she has begun to effectively commit social suicide with pushing Marc.
> 
> I like Ms. Mendeleiev because she seems to be the only competent teacher at that school, and acts as a teacher should for the most part, even if she could be a bit more tactful about it. I had her effortlessly pick apart Lila's falsehoods and refuse to take her word for it, because no competent teacher would let such a student get away with everything Lila seems to get away with in the show.


	9. Chapter Nine

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The class convenes with their findings and Luka and Kagami are brought in. Several unpleasant discoveries are made in the process of debunking Lila's lies and the plan advances to the next stage.
> 
> Warning: mentions of suicide at one point.

The school was abuzz with conversation regarding what happened with Lila in the courtyard for the rest of the day. She had been dragged into Mr. Damocles’ office almost by the ear but had emerged with apparently no punishment, as Marc was not seriously injured. Part of the reason for this was the need to keep Lila in one place for the inevitable punishment, but it didn’t make the class any happier. Nathaniel in particular had marched up to Alya, Adrien, Marinette and Nino and told them that having to downplay what had been done to Marc was taking all his strength.

“I was this close to going all Evillustrator on her ass. Let’s take this bitch down soon, or I will!”, he had said before storming off.

Marinette had discussed the potential risk that someone in the group could become akumatised as a result of what they read about Lila. As it was, her recent discovery had filled her with an almost murderous hate and she worried for the others. At the same time, she was also eager to hear what they had uncovered in their respective arenas. That evening saw them convening once again at the Grand Paris Hotel, this time using one of it’s conference rooms with Alya and Marinette once again holding court. Each of the class, with the exception of Chloe, had large stacks of paper in front of them and had expressions ranging from angry to sickened. Only Juleka and Adrien were absent, as they were bringing Luka and Kagami, respectively.

“I’m going to assume that everyone here has managed to dig up some dirt on Lila, judging by all the intel scattered across the table.”, Alya said.

“More than I’d care to stomach reading again.”, Mylene muttered.

“My brain hurts from all this.”, Kim said, rubbing his temples.

Alix was too grumpy and enraged to bother insulting him, despite the bait he’d just slung for her. She looked supremely pissed off and seemed to be fighting the urge to punch something again.

“We’re just waiting on Juleka and Adrien to arrive, with two new allies. I also want to ask Kagami if she remembers anything from her time as Oni-Chan that might be helpful.”, Marinette said.

Actions done by people whilst akumatised were generally not remembered afterwards, but sometimes flashes of particularly strong or important ones remained. Nathaniel still recalled trying to kill Chloe with giant buzz saws, for example. He was sitting with Marc, who had a bandage wrapped around his head and who Nathaniel wasn’t letting get more than a few feet away from him. The timid writer seemed none the worse for his accident, but it had solidified his resolve to help bring Lila down. 

“Didn’t she try and skewer Lila with a sword? And gave her a horn that grew whenever she lied?”, asked Nino.

“Maybe she should have been left like that.”, Alix muttered.

As tempting as that had been, Marinette thought, Oni-Chan had also been trying to kill both Ladybug and Chat Noir and Kagami had not been in her right mind. Although, she did wonder just how the cold and logical Japanese girl would react to this. She just hoped Adrien had convinced her not to bring her sword, or Lila would have a murderous tseudo-samurai after her head in short order. Although, would that really be so bad? 

And Luka. Dear Luka, so calm and thoughtful and wise, and who cared about her so much that the mere sight of her being threatened was enough to get him akumatised. If he was told that Lila had done the same to her……. well, the world feared the wrath of a quiet and gentle soul. Speaking of which, the door opened and Juleka and Adrien came in, Luka and Kagami with them. Marinette felt the usual slight spike of jealousy at the sight of the Japanese girl with Adrien, but the two had agreed to remain friends for now. Luka gave her a warm smile, which she returned slightly nervously.

“Good. We’re all here.”, Alya said.

“Exactly why? Adrien refused to elaborate, despite my thorough interrogation.”, Kagami asked.

“Interrogation? What, did you have torture tools as well?”, Nino asked.

“Of course not. That would be dishonourable.”, Kagami replied coolly.

Judging by the awkward and nervous glances towards her, most couldn’t tell if Kagami was being serious or not. She was very blunt and straightforward, and sarcasm tended to be an issue for her as a result. Adrien laughed.

“I didn’t tell you because this is something best seen in person, Kagami.”, he said.

“Ah. Fair enough.”, Kagami replied, and sat herself down smartly.

Luka stared around the room at everyone.

“Juleka wouldn’t tell me either, but the melody in here is very……. strange. There’s a lot of anger, but it’s being guided on a purpose.”, he said.

“The blue-haired one is correct, in a way. There is a lot of negative energy in this room.”, Kagami said.

“Well, we all have good reasons to be angry.”, Kim replied.

Marinette cleared her throat to bring everything back to her.

“Our anger is currently due to one Lila Rossi. I know Kagami, at least, has met her once before.”, she said.

A dark look crossed Kagami’s face and Luka scowled.

“I am aware of whom you speak.”, Kagami said.

“I met her once when I picked up Juleka. Her melody was…….. awful. Malicious and cruel and scary, like a tortured violin.”, Luka said, shuddering.

“Sounds about right.”, Nino muttered.

“Well, all of us here are united against her. To punish her for an……. unspeakable crime.”, Adrien said.

Luka and Kagami stared at him, startled at the raw emotion in his tone. Their phones beeped to indicate a received text message, which had a video attached.

“The video you’re about to see is our main weapon in this campaign. Just don’t smash anything when you see it.”, Alya said.

“I am too exceedingly disciplined to react in such a manner.”, Kagami said curtly.

“Says the girl who sliced a tree in two when she saw a photo of Lila kissing Adrien’s cheek.”, Alya muttered.

“Oi. That was told in confidence.”, Marinette told her.

Luka and Kagami both watched the video, the class studying them expectantly. When the main part of the video showed, both of them turned deathly pale and their eyes flashed with furious fire. When it was over, Luka put his phone back in his pocket and clenched his hands together on the table hard enough that the knuckles went white, breathing in deeply. Juleka could tell that he was extremely angry, angrier than he’d ever been, and it scared her somewhat. As for Kagami, she clenched her phone hard enough that it creaked in protest before laying it calmly on the table. 

“I see. Perhaps I should have run her through with my sword after all.”, she said.

“Let’s leave that option open, shall we?”, Alix said.

Kagami bowed her head and intoned something in Japanese.

“What was that?”, Marinetted asked, leaning towards Adrien since he spoke Japanese.

“She was asking honour to forgive her for her mistake.”, he replied, sounding confused.

“What mistake?”, Marinette asked.

Kagami heard her and glanced sharply at Adrien, who flushed.

“A mistake in not informing Ladybug of what I knew of this Lila girl.”, she said.

“What do you mean?”, Adrien asked her.

“When I was akumatised into Oni-Chan, I remembered some of what I did. One thing was threatening that girl into ceasing her romantic pursuit of Adrien. She agreed, but only if I were to kill Ladybug.”, Kagami said.

The ambient temperature in the room seemed to drop to zero in a second. Everyone was staring at Kagami in absolute disbelief, except Marinette who looked like she was going to throw up and Adrien, who was looking caught between immense guilt and the need to commit murder.

“I should have told Ladybug about this. Perhaps if she had known beforehand that Lila was willing to see her killed, she would have been more on guard.”, Kagami continued.

Alya slumped in her seat, one hand over her eyes.

“And here I thought she couldn’t be anymore evil.”, she muttered.

“What is this girl? The fucking Anti-Christ?!”, Mylene shrieked, eliciting quite a few gasps.

“Maybe we should throw holy water on her and see if it burns.”, Ivan said.

“Or just toss her in the Seine.”, Kim suggested.

“No, we’d be done for environmental damage.”, Alix countered.

Marinette was quickly noting down what Kagami had said, making a mental note to approach her as Ladybug and let her know that she did not think badly of her not having told her about what Lila asked her to do. As she did so, she caught sight of the other notes she had gathered on Lila and closed her eyes; what she had found had made her feel sick, and detesting the idea of revealing it to her classmates, but also hardened her resolve to tear Lila apart for her deeds.

“Anyway, now that we’ve got that revealed to us, it’s time to report on what we’ve all found out about Lila.”, Alya said.

“Report?”, Luka asked, confused.

“Yes. All of us here have agreed to bring down Lila by exposing her for what she really is. To destroy her before she destroys us all.”, Adrien told him.

“I see. Well, you can count me in.”, Luka said.

“And me. Honour demands that I protect my home and my friends from any who threaten them.”, Kagami seconded.

“Good. We’ll assign you your roles in the plan after we’ve heard everyone’s reports. Juleka and Ivan, you’re first.”, Marinette said.

The two musicians stood up, Juleka’s shyness giving way to a steely determination.

“We followed up on all the musicians and entertainers Lila said she knew, Jagged Stone and Clara Nightingale most prominent among them. From what we were able to find out, Jagged Stone cannot have known her as he has never visited any country where Lila was at the time. As for her saving his kitten, Jagged Stone is deathly allergic to animal fur and claims to have had his pet crocodile, Fang, for at least fifteen years.”, she said.

“We’ll leave the official confirmation of that up to you, Marinette, considering that you actually know Jagged Stone. Boy, will Lila’s face be red when she finds that out.”, Ivan chuckled.

“I know. Ten euros that she immediately tries to suck up to Marinette so she can exploit that.”, Nathaniel said.

Marinette wrote all of that down, smirking to herself as she listened to her classmates bet on how Lila would react when she found out her most hated classmate had all the connections she lied about having. 

“Excellent. I’m going to see Jagged tomorrow to give him the new poster he had me design, so I’ll bring him in on the plan. Lila claiming to have had a song written about her by him will probably make him angry enough, considering he’s over thirty and she’s only fifteen, but messing with his favourite designer and honourary niece? He’ll dedicate a song to bringing her down when he hears that.”, she said.

“It’s funny how you’ve done or have access to everything Lila claims to have, Marinette, and you don’t even boast about it.”, Marc pointed out.

“Why would I? It’s just who I am. And if I ever did gloat about it, it would be in a joking fashion.”, Marinette replied.

“Girl, you are just too sweet for your own good.”, Alya said.

“Awww, thanks. Anyway, back to business. Anything else from you, Juleka? Ivan?”, Marinette asked.

“We’ve investigated a number of famous musicians who Lila claims to have either met or been descended from. Of the first category, half of them are actually dead and the other half are secretive as hell.”, Juleka said.

“As for the other category, several of them did not have children and so it’s impossible for Lila to be descended from them. As for the others, a simple DNA test will prove she’s lying.”, Ivan finished.

Marinette wrote all this down.

“Excellent. Good work, you two.”, she said.

Alya looked down the table.

“Rose, you’re next. What were you able to find out about Lila’s charity work?”, she asked.

Rose got to her feet and a look of true heartbreak passed over her face for a second before it was pushed away in favour of the same, cold determination that had overtaken Juleka when she was speaking.

“I did. And I found nothing. Not a single scrap of evidence to support her claims. I researched and contacted every single charity she ever said she worked with. None of them had even heard of Lila Rossi and a few of them didn’t even exist. All the work she did, all the people she helped, all the money she raised for good causes, all of it was a lie!”, she stormed.

Her stoic front began to break and tears poured down her cheeks but she ignored the box of tissues Juleka hastily pushed in front of her.

“And Prince Ali, when I asked him about Lila, he said he had no idea who I was talking about. Then his PR people stepped in, said I was enabling a stalker or an exploiter and told me that I could no longer associate with the prince and his charity work. I……. I was nearly akumatised last night because of that.”, she said.

And the blonde girl broke down then, her speech over as she hunched in on herself and sobbed. Juleka hugged her girlfriend close, her own face burning with anger. The others muttered angrily to themselves; Lila’s lies had hurt perhaps the sweetest and gentlest person in their group, and that was just not acceptable. Alya wrote it down.

“I’m so sorry, Rose. I know how much all of that meant to you.”, Nino said.

“It’s fine. I’ll…….. find something else to work on. I’ve already signed up to work with some of the charities Lila said she was helping. Everything she said she did, I will do. Tenfold.”, Rose said.

“And I’ll be there with you.”, Juleka said, kissing the top of her girlfriend’s head.

Next was Nathaniel and Marc, which held the same vein as Juleka and Ivan. Most of the people Lila claimed to know or be related to were dead, extremely reclusive or had never had children. Nathaniel had endured his parents insistence that he become more involved in medicine, joining a First Aid course as a sort of compromise, but had returned with a wealth of information regarding the conditions Lila claimed to have had.

“A sprained wrist or ankle would require regular applications of an ice pack and the affected area to be kept elevated and out of danger. I sit next to Lila and have observed none of these things. She can type on her tablet without suffering any pain despite her claimed sprain only moments ago or afterwards and I’ve seen her walking without any sign of pain or a limp.”, Nathaniel reported.

He turned a page.

“Tinnitus is a symptom of underlying hearing conditions and can be a result of various things, including infections, previous head injuries and noise-induced hearing loss or damage. Lila claims to have it as a result of being exposed to a jet engine whilst rescuing Jagged Stone’s kitten from an airport runway. A jet engine produces sounds up to 140 decibels, which would probably blow out the eardrums of anyone in close proximity without ear protection. If Lila’s tale were true, she would likely be completely deaf and yet she has no problem hearing what Ms. Bustier says in class.”, he said.

The list continued for various ailments; nut allergies when Marinette brought macarons in for the class, yet she was observed eating a peanut butter sandwich at lunch that very same day; claiming to have been pushed down the stairs by Marinette, but had no signs of bruising or bleeding; lactose intolerance, but jumped at the chance to go for ice cream after a modelling shoot with Adrien. In short, either she is a medical marvel or an utter liar.

“No points for guessing which.”, Marc muttered, still sore over her pushing him.

Same for everyone else; Chloe reported that her mother had never been to Italy, regarding the country and it’s fashion as sub-standard, and refused to have even one-sixteenth Italians anywhere near her. As horrible and racist as that was, it was more evidence that Lila could not possibly be associated with Audrey Bourgeois. Mylene reported that Lila’s claims of having access to Broadway were fraudulent, as Broadway let nobody under the age of sixteen into it unless they were accompanied by an adult and Lila’s mother had never been to America. Max reported that Lila’s claims of apprenticing under several Nobel Prize winners were false because they did not run any such programmes; Alix and Kim, both fuming and almost smoking at the ears, could find no evidence of her knowing Tony Hawk or Usain Bolt. Not a single piece of factual evidence to support her claims.

“This’ll be the scoop of the year at this rate!”, Alya said in delight.

Sabrina reported that Lila was eligible for being sued, held under suspicion of or charged for libel, spreading false information, potential malicious slander, stalking, sexual harassment, bullying, truancy, falsifying contact details, attempted murder and aiding and abetting a terrorist. Likely she would never be permitted to set foot in France ever again.

“Good work, Sabrina.”, Marinette told her.

“Yeah. I guess you really can be useful.”, Chloe said, ruffling Sabrina’s hair.

Sabrina glowed with happiness at this praise, particularly from Chloe.

“Did Chloe just say something nice to Sabrina? About Sabrina?”, asked Alya.

“Apparently so.”, Nino replied.

“And here I thought the day couldn’t get any weirder.”, Marinette muttered.

But it was when Nino began his report that the class’ restraint began to crack. 

“So, there’s no way in hell she knows Steven Beiselberg. The guy only talks to about ten people in person and eight of those are his family members. But then I found that she’d posted this on her Twitter page.”, Nino said.

For some reason, he looked fearfully at Adrien before reading it out.

“You know that film that was showing, Solitude? I know the actress who starred in it and she asks me for advice on which films she should do next.”, he said.

Adrien made a choking sound and turned pale. Marinette’s hands flew to her mouth in shock.

“Oh, my God! No! She wouldn’t……… who could possibly stoop that low?”, she said.

Adrien clamped a hand over his mouth and dashed from the room, causing quite a few people to look worried.

“Luka, Nino, go after him. Make sure he’s OK before you bring him back.”, Marinette ordered.

Chloe was pacing up and down, white in the face with fury and ranting vociferously about having Lila chopped up, made into sausages and fed to dogs before having their excrement burned. Alya looked at Marinette.

“I think I’m missing something here, girl.”, she said.

“That film, Solitude, was the one me and Adrien went to see. When half of Paris was chasing us and I was in my pyjamas?”, Marinette said.

“Yes? Go on.”, Alya replied.

“The starring actress, was Emilie Graham de Vanily. Later, one Emilie Agreste.”, Marinette said.

Alya stared at her.

“You mean……?”, she asked in disbelief.

Chloe stormed over.

“Yes, Cesaire. Lila lied about being in contact with Adrien’s mother, Adrien’s mother who is gone and whose absence he feels every single day.”, she said angrily.

That prompted an enraged uproar from the class, with Kim having to restrain Alix from making a run for the fire axe, which only calmed down when Luka and Nino returned with a very shaken but angry-looking Adrien between them. 

“Adrien. Are you OK?”, Marinette asked.

“I’ll be fine. I just…….. need to think about how much I hate Lila to risk setting my father loose on her.”, the boy replied in an oddly detached voice.

Luka sidled up to Marinette.

“He threw up into the toilet bowl, then just went really quiet. It was kind of scary.”, he said.

He looked decidedly rattled, and this was worrying in and of itself. 

“We just need to take down Lila, before her lies hurt anyone else.”, Marinette said.

“Anyone else? Wait, besides you and Adrien?”, Luka asked.

“Yes.”, Marinette said.

It was now time for her to produce her findings, and she did so with no small amount of fear of how everyone would react.

“After I went home, I decided to look into where Lila has been in the past. It occurred to me that I’m likely not the first person she’s gone after in this fashion, the first whose life she’s tried to destroy. And I was right. I found a forum where former friends of hers had gathered.”, she said.

She took a deep breath.

“What I read was…….. awful. Everyone there spoke of how when Lila arrived, she would quickly establish herself with a wealth of fabulous tales to make herself popular, then slowly start to chip away at existing friendships to make people more dependent on her. It was subtle at first, but then she’d ramp it up.”, Marinette continued.

“Not everyone was fooled by her lies. Often there was at least one person who would try and expose her, like I did, and that’s when she would strike. She would engineer incidents that painted these people in a bad light, lying that they were bullying her or were not as nice as they seemed. Sabotaged school work, missing items that turned up in lockers and bags, Lila pretending to have been assaulted or stalked. Gradually, the accusers were excluded from activities and abandoned by all their friends. In some cases, they had to move away because it got to be too much for them. And then I came across Phillipe.”

She paused to take a drink of water and to compose herself.

“Phillipe was the cousin of a girl named Giselle, one of those who saw through Lila’s lies. In less than a month, Giselle went from the girl everyone loved and appreciated to the most hated and isolated. Her parents pulled her out of school and transferred her across town, but Lila still didn’t let up. She wanted to utterly destroy Giselle, and she did.”

Marinette broke off with a sob, trying not to break down. Everyone was looking at her with some consternation, nervous about what she was going to say next.

“What……… what happened to Giselle?”, Juleka asked.

“She……. killed herself.”, Marinette almost whispered.

She expected another uproar but, to her surprise, there wasn’t one. Though angry fire blazed in several people’s eyes and Alix looked at the fire axe once more, everyone remained where they were and did not explode. They were all too stunned to speak, the revelation that Lila had driven at least one person to take their own life because of how thoroughly it had been ruined by one poisonous girl. Even Kagami looked completely horrified, the look completely at odds with her usually stoic countenance.

“After Giselle’s suicide, Lila suddenly moved away and her former friends realised too late just what had happened. A few almost killed themselves out of remorse but Phillipe talked them down. He created the forum to warn people, to share stories of how Lila had destroyed their lives and make sure it didn’t happen again. He sent me records of things he found on Giselle’s phone, messages from Lila promising that she would destroy her life, with the promise that I use it to bring her down. And I will. We all will.”, Marinette finished.

She looked around at them all, faces still pale but now hardened with resolve. She elected not to remind them of the fact that had Alya not caught onto Lila’s true nature, she could very well have gone the same way as poor Giselle. But that had mercifully been averted, and if they were successful then Lila would never hurt anyone ever again.

“I think we’ve got more than enough evidence here to prove that she’s pretty much evil. Even if we’re wrong about her working with Hawk Moth, what we have is enough to get her seriously punished, as well as ruin her reputation completely.”, Alya said.

“Then we proceed on to the next phase of our plan; bringing in the adults and the authorities.”, Marinette said.

“Starting with my father.”, Adrien said.

Everyone stared at him; this was new.

“Your father? I thought he approved of Lila’s friendship with you.”, Alya said.

“I plan on changing that. You already know how clingy she is with me, to the extent my arm has bruises and fingernail marks. Tomorrow, I have another modeling shoot with her and I’m going to get her to admit she wants me and won’t leave me alone, whilst my phone is on record. I’m then going to bring it to my father and if he doesn’t immediately try and kill her, get him on our side.”, Adrien said.

“And if he doesn’t react in the way you think?”, Marinette asked.

“Then he doesn’t deserve to be called a father. I’m sick of the exploitation and rules if it means I have to endure Lila.”, Adrien replied.

He was looking half-deranged, as though he might break apart from all the emotions he was feeling. But all this stuff with Lila had changed him; he wasn’t going to just passively accept everything in his life from now on. He was going to deal with it himself.

“Right. Kagami, I want you to go with him on this as back-up. Adrien’s father approves of you as well, and you’ll be good for emotional support as well.”, Marinette said.

“An accurate assessment. I will do my best.”, Kagami replied.

“It’ll be good to have you, especially if I have to kick down the door just to talk to him.”, Adrien said with a chuckle.

“In the meantime, I’ll talk to Jagged Stone and get him involved, whilst Alya does the same with Nadja Chamack. Show her the tapes and some of the evidence, but tell her to hold off on breaking the story for now. We need to wait until everything’s in place.”, Marinette said.

“Got it.”, Alya said.

Rose raised her hand.

“What about the rest of us?”, she asked.

“Already covered. Ivan, Mylene, Rose, Juleka and Luka, you’re to bring in Ms. Bustier. Nathaniel, Marc, Alix and Kim, Ms. Mendeleiev. Max, Markov and Nino, Mr. Damocles.”, Alya replied.

“What about me and Chloe?”, Sabrina asked.

“You both tell your fathers. Show them the video and the gathered evidence, but tell them to hold off until Monday.”, Marinette said.

“Monday?”, Luka asked.

“The story will break on Monday morning, when classes are about to begin. Lila will be in school and we can keep her there.”, Marinette replied.

“And what if Lila gets akumatised?”, Nathaniel asked.

Marinette smiled a very deadly smile.

“We’re counting on that. I’m betting that Lila will try and deliberately get herself akumatised, but Ladybug and Chat Noir have been warned about her and will likely be on standby just in case.”, she said.

“How does Lila getting akumatised work in our favour? Won’t she just kill everyone in the room?”, Kim asked.

“Because she’ll likely demand that Hawk Moth akumatise her. And if we get that on tape…….”, Marinette trailed off.

“........ then there’s no way she’ll be able to pretend that she’s a victim.”, Adrien finished.

“And she’ll be caught like a rat in a trap.”, Alya said.

Caught like a rat indeed. Phase two complete, phase three about to begin.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And so we have all of Lila's lies laid bare, with a few casualties such as poor Rose losing Prince Ali's friendship and Adrien finding out that Lila has lied about knowing his mother. 
> 
> In regards to poor Giselle, I reasoned that Marinette can hardly be the first person targeted by Lila in this manner and that not everyone would have the emotional strength Marinette does to endure it. It also shows how Lila does not think things through entirely, continuing to use her same methods of getting attention and destroying friendships without realising that the people she left behind would have cottoned onto it and gone online to try and warn people.
> 
> Adrien intends to tell his father, who I view as pretty despicable and whose reasons for being Hawk Moth are protected by increasingly flimsy excuses but who does seem to maintain affection for his son, if in a rather twisted, controlling and possessive way. We'll see how he reacts to just how Lila has been treating Adrien soon.


	10. Chapter Ten

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Adrien endures a modelling shoot with Lila to get evidence of her harassing him, following which he presents it and all the other gathered evidence to his father. 
> 
> Warning: this chapter contains some content that could make certain readers highly uncomfortable.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I must apologise in advance for what you're about to read. I needed to fully hammer home just how repugnant Lila is and I fear I may have gone too far.

Adrien was sitting in his dressing room, mentally psyching himself up for what was coming. It was helped somewhat by the fact that if this went according to plan, it would be the last time he’d ever do a modelling shoot with…….. her. Heh. “According to plan”. Now those were dangerous words to utter, as countless experiences as Chat Noir had taught him. In one of their comparatively few conversations, Nathaniel had mentioned a Yiddish saying his grandmother was fond of uttering.

“Man plans, God laughs.”

Very apt, since there had been many times when plans of his were cut short or interrupted by unforeseen occurrences. He switched on his phone and set it to record before dropping it into the inside pocket of the jacket he would be wearing for the shoot. Gods, he hoped this worked. He left the dressing room and went to where the shoot was being prepared. Lila was already there, preening herself even though the shoot had yet to begin. Her eyes lit up as she saw and she sprang to her feet.

“Adrien! Oh, I’m very excited for this session! I’m thinking of sending a few to my family back in Italy.”, she began.

“Sounds nice. Listen, I wanted to talk in private before the shoot.”, Adrien said.

“But of course! Lead on!”, she said.

He led her back towards the dressing rooms and into an empty one. When they were inside, he closed the door and turned to face her.

“I’m only going to say this once, so listen carefully. I want you to stop bullying Marinette.”, he said.

“Me? But she’s the one who’s bullying me! Why would you think I’m lying?”, she simpered, false tears already beginning.

“Cut the crap, Lila.”, Adrien almost snarled.

She started in surprise at the anger in his tone.

“I made a deal with you to get you to leave Marinette alone, to stop hurting the people I care about but you didn’t listen. You keep trying to hurt Marinette, to drive her friends away and ruin her life. I want you to stop.”, he said.

“And why would I do that?”, Lila asked.

“Because if you don’t, I will ask my father to stop doing these shared photo shoots. I also want you to stop groping me hard enough to bruise, as well as invading my personal space even when I’ve made it expressly clear it makes me uncomfortable, or I will- hrk!”

He cut himself off with a choking noise as her hand pressed into his throat, pushing him back to slam against the door whilst her other hand went down to grab his arm in a vice-like grip. All the false friendliness had gone from her face, leaving behind a mask of pure anger and venom that leaked into her voice as she hissed at him.

“Now you listen to me, Adrien Agreste. I never agreed to uphold that deal for long, anyway, and you were too naive and stupid to realise it until now. Bravo, but too little too late.”, she said.

Adrien made a gasping sound but she squeezed his throat even tighter, her nails digging into the soft flesh of his neck. There was a look in her eyes that was scary and he felt a stab of real fear at having put himself alone in a room with her.

“Here’s how it’s going to go, OK? You and I will continue to do these shoots, I will act however I please with Marinette and you will sit back and take however I want to act around you. If I want to touch you, I will. If I want to kiss you, I will.”, she continued.

She kissed him on the lips to prove her point and he wanted to gag.

“You’re mine, Adrien Agreste. Eventually and totally. You can accept this now and take it with good grace, or you can’t. It doesn’t matter, because you’re mine anyway. And if you try and wriggle out of it, Marinette will suffer even more. Or maybe you will. Some torn clothes and smudged make-up and teary eyes, and suddenly the news is screaming about how Adrien Agreste tried to assault a new model. Don’t think it’ll work? Well, too bad. I’m a girl, you’re a boy, who do you think the people will believe?”, she hissed.

The hand around his throat squeezed once more and then traveled up to cup his cheeks.

“So, basically, you stay in line and do as you’re told, and I won’t destroy you like I’m going to destroy Marinette. Got it?”, she said.

Before he could answer, there was a knock on the door.

“Ms. Rossi? Mr. Agreste? Are you in there? We’re ready to begin.”, said a voice.

“Of course. I’ll be right there.”, Lila called back.  
She released him and he slumped against the wall, massaging his throat and panting for breath as Lila tossed a make-up container at him.

“Cover up those neck bruises. It won’t do to have them on show. And remember, one word……”

She left her threat hanging as she opened the door and left the room. Adrien, struggling not to cry, reached into his pocket and took out the phone, playing back the recording. Lila’s voice came through perfectly, every detail of her threat crystal clear. He had what he needed. As he struggled to his feet, Plagg zoomed out of his shirt pocket.

“Adrien! Are you OK?”, the little black kwami asked.

“I’ll be fine, Plagg. I just……”, he tried to say.

Plagg was trembling with utter rage; in his entire several millennia existence he had never encountered anything quite as vile as Lila Rossi, and what she had said to his owner had made him so furious that he was tempted to swoop after her and Cataclysm her until not even atoms remained. Plagg was not the sentimental kind, and many of his owners had ended up corrupted by the power of Destruction or been bad in and of themselves before getting their hands on it, but he deeply cared for Adrien and felt the boy deserved a far better life than the one he had right now. There was another knock on the door and Plagg quickly zoomed back into the pocket.

“Adrien? We’re ready to begin. Both Vincent and Ms. Rossi are growing impatient.”, it said.

“Coming.”, Adrien replied.

The false cheerfulness sounded hollow to his own ears. Plagg zipped out of the pocket as he left the room and went to hide in Adrien’s jacket until it was over. Adrien saw Lila smile at him as he walked over and sat next to her for the shoot to begin.

“Ah, Adrien! Good, good! Now we can begin!”, Vincent said happily.  
Adrien managed a genuine smile for Vincent, who he genuinely liked in spite of his eccentric personality and odd fascination with spaghetti.

“For the first few, I would like you sitting very close to Ms. Rossi, so your outfits are shown in greater contrast.”, Vincent said.

“Of course, Vincent.”, Adrien replied.

He swallowed hard as he allowed Lila to press herself uncomfortably close to him. Under cover of looking like a loving couple, she leaned her head on his shoulder and dug her nails into his arm once again.

“Remember what I said, Adrien.”, she said through her teeth.

Adrien could hardly wait for the shoot to be over and almost fled the place when it was. Outside, his bodyguard was waiting with the car and, to his vague surprise, Kagami. She noticed his emotional distress at once but said nothing until they were in the car and driving back to the Agreste Mansion.

“What happened in there? You’re shaking like a rabbit that nearly got caught by a fox.”, she said.

Adrien had a sudden flashback to Lila when she was Volpina and chuckled, which became a genuine laugh when he imagined how Volpina would fare in a fight with Bunnyx, especially if the rabbit-themed superhero got her hands on a fire axe.

“Lila………. I got the evidence to hopefully convince my father, but……..”, he tried to say.

But he couldn’t bring himself to recount what Lila had done, so instead he just opened the neck of the collared shirt he was still wearing to reveal the bruises that had formed from when Lila choked him. Kagami’s eyes widened.

“Oh, my god!”, she whispered.

Next second, both of them were nearly flung forwards out of their seats as the car screeched to an instant halt, with an angry honking of horns from motorists forced to swerve around it. The Gorilla, who only allowed Adrien to call him that, turned right round in his seat and stared in disbelief at the markings on Adrien’s throat. The man’s mouth opened in shock and he stared at Adrien, his expression clearly asking who did this.

“It was Lila. That girl who was at the shoot.”, Adrien said.

The Gorilla’s eyebrows knitted together and his face grew thunderous. He made to get out of the car, but stopped dead at Adrien’s shout.

“NO! Take us home, now! I need to show this to my father.”, he ordered.

The Gorilla looked completely shocked for a few moments, then nodded grimly and started the car back up. Adrien swore he heard the steering wheel warping under the man’s death grip. Kagami laid a comforting hand on his arm.

“Adrien, this girl cannot be allowed near you anymore. If your father does not see that, then as you said yesterday, he does not deserve to call himself your father.”, she said.

“I know. I’ve been trying so hard to please him, ever since Mother went away. I just want to be loved. Is that so much to ask for?”, Adrien said.

And he leaned his body against Kagami’s, his frame trembling with suppressed sobs. Kagami was startled, then she put a hand on his back and awkwardly patted him; such gestures were foreign to her.  
“No, Adrien, it isn’t. In fact, I do believe it’s a normal thing to ask for. My own mother has gotten better in that regard; when she hugged me the other day, I almost fainted.”, she said.

And she giggled, which was enough to jolt Adrien out of his funk. Kagami had never giggled before and it sounded so ridiculous coming from her that he couldn’t help bursting into laughter, which she joined in a second later. The Gorilla watched them in the rear view mirror and smiled slightly; it was not in his job description, but he cared very deeply for Adrien and enjoyed seeing him happy. His thoughts turned back to Lila and he growled under his breath; if Gabriel did not react in a way he deemed satisfactory, which included ordering him to find the girl and throw her in the Seine, he would hand in his resignation, and maybe even take Adrien with him if he could manage it. This job with Gabriel Agreste paid well and he’d been able to ignore a lot of how Gabriel Agreste treated his son with the reasoning that it was tough love or would work out eventually, but if the man still expected Adrien to work with a girl that physically abused him then he would not stay there. Adrien wiped a tear from his eye.

“Thanks, Kagami. I needed that.”, he said.

“My pleasure. Helping friends with emotional issues is something other friends do, apparently.”, Kagami replied.

“Yes, I suppose it is.”, Adrien said.

They were now approaching the mansion’s wrought-iron gates, which opened to let the car in. Waiting on the front steps was Nathalie, her tablet under her arm and her usual stoic expression in place. He was glad to see she wasn’t suffering one of her bad turns, which had become distressingly common recently and gave him uncomfortable flashbacks to his mother’s decline. The moment the car had stopped, he was out of his seat and opening the door, Kagami quickly following him. Nathalie stepped forwards.

“Adrien. How was the shoot?”, she asked.

“I need to see my father.”, Adrien replied curtly.

She blinked, highly taken aback by his tone, but quickly rallied.

“Impossible, I’m afraid. Your father is very busy at the moment, but perhaps at dinner-”, she began.

“Screw dinner! I need to see him now!”, Adrien snapped, cutting across her.

Nathalie was too shocked to react for a second and that was enough for him to push past her and stride up the stairs. He was through the front doors and in the foyer before Nathalie recovered and about to knock on the door of his father’s study when she caught up.

“Adrien! Your father is extremely busy and is not to be disturbed!”, she said.

“I don’t care. This is something he needs to know about.”, Adrien shot back.

He knocked hard on the door.

“What is it? I told you I was not to be disturbed.”, his father’s voice said.

“I need to talk to you, Father. It’s urgent.”, Adrien said.

“Adrien? I’m afraid that’s not possible at the moment. I will see you at dinner-”, His father started to reply.

Adrien saw red in that moment and tore the door open with such force that it struck the wall with a loud bang, before storming into the office. His father was standing in front of his computer screen, working on something, and looking utterly flabbergasted, mouth half-open and eyebrows raised. For a moment, Adrien was tempted to take a picture. Then the standard personality reasserted itself.

“Adrien! What is the meaning of this?! How dare you barge in here!”, his father said in a dangerous voice.

“I need to talk to you. Now!”, Adrien said, in an insolent tone.

For a moment, he feared he’d crossed a line he couldn’t possibly uncross, but then Gabriel’s shoulders relaxed a hair.

“If there is not a phenomenally good explanation for this unacceptable behaviour, Adrien, you will be severely punished.”, he said in a cold voice.

“There is. Lila Rossi. I want to cancel the shared photoshoots with her.”, Adrien replied.

“Ms. Rossi? Why? She is an exceptional-”, Gabriel began.

“I know you assigned her to spy on me! Make sure there are no corrupting or toxic influences in my life! Well, she is one!”, Adrien interrupted.

Nathalie was hovering in the doorway, looking very anxious and confused, whilst Kagami and the Gorilla lurked just behind her.

“Adrien, I think you’re misunderstanding things. I approached Ms. Rossi and asked her to keep an eye on you because she seems trustworthy and an appropriate friend for you-”, Gabriel began again.

Adrien saw red again and he tore the shirt open from neck to waist, sending the buttons flying and exposing the clearly obvious finger-shaped bruises on his throat.

“Friend? Appropriate? See this?! This is what she did to me this morning!”, he almost screamed, pointing for good measure.

Gabriel Agreste’s entire demeanour changed at once; his eyes, so cold and analytical behind his spectacles, stretched wide open, his jaw dropped and his arms went slack. He almost staggered and Nathalie made to go to his side, only to catch sight of the bruising on Adrien’s throat and stop dead in much the same fashion. Still in his rage throes, Adrien grabbed his right sleeve and tore it off, showing off the bruises, nail marks and even one that was bleeding.

“She’s not what you think she is, Father! She’s evil! She’s cruel, twisted, manipulative, spiteful and just plain evil! I’m begging you, please don’t make me work with her again!”, he pleaded, tears starting to form.

Gabriel seemed to be on the verge of recovering, but Adrien was not finished yet. He took out his phone and threw it to Nathalie, who caught it just in time.

“I got a recording as well, just in case the bruises weren't enough. Play it. Play it and see just what kind of a monster she really is.”, he said.

Nathalie fumbled with the phone, still trying to get a grip on herself, but Gabriel snatched it out of her grip and played the recording. They heard Adrien’s voice asking Lila to leave Marinette alone or else, then his choked gasp as she grabbed him by the throat and issued her threatening ultimatum. Adrien shuddered and folded in on himself as he heard that venomous voice again, not raising his head until it was over. And then he saw his father and, despite his hatred for Lila, felt a spark of fear at what he had just unleashed on her.

Gabriel’s entire frame had gone rigid, as though he were carved from marble, but his face registered one emotion; black fury, the likes of which Adrien had never seen. Not even when he lost that book had he seen his father so furious. Nathalie’s face was completely bloodless but she was staring at the phone with a look that would have made Medusa run away screaming. Then his father moved, turning to Nathalie with whiplike speed like a snake and his voice was a venomous hiss.

“Nathalie, contact the lawyers. All of them! I will see this girl locked away in the deepest, darkest depths of the remotest prison I can find!”, he said.

“Yes, sir.”, Nathalie replied in a coldly furious voice that spoke of murder.

But once again, Adrien’s voice stopped them dead.

“No. Not yet.”, he said.

They stared at him like he’d gone mad.

“Adrien, what I just heard in that video was evidence of sexual harassment to the highest degree, as well as a rather sincere threat of rape. Don’t tell me you don’t want to press charges?”, Gabriel asked incredulously.

“Of course I do. But not yet, Father. There’s something else you need to know about.”, Adrien said.

He tossed his father a USB flash drive, his copy of all the evidence gathered against Lila and an outline of the plan. Gabriel plugged it into his work computer and scrolled through it, eyebrows flickering in slight surprise at the sheer volume of information. 

“This girl lies, manipulates and threatens on a scale I didn’t think was possible. And she doesn’t care who she hurts. Marinette, whose life she’s been trying to destroy for months, found evidence that she caused one girl to kill herself because of what she did to her. She’s also tried to kill Ladybug and, of course, physically abused me. My entire class is in on this plan to bring her down, and we’ll do it with or without your help.”, Adrien said.

Gabriel’s nostrils flared slightly, but he did not otherwise respond. Finally, he looked up.

“I can see that you and your classmates have put a lot of time, thought and effort into this. I’m impressed.”, he said.

Adrien blinked; had his father really said that?

“I should warn you, Father. Nino found out that Lila was claiming she was in contact with the actress from……. from Mother’s film. I thought you should hear that from me rather than reading about it.”, he said.

Gabriel’s reaction was even more pronounced and terrifying than the previous one. His hands clenched into fists, his teeth actually bared themselves in a snarl and the very air around him seemed to pulse with energy. With seemingly great effort, he composed himself.

“I see. Remind me why I am holding my entire legal team back from ripping this girl apart?”, he asked in a commendably level voice.

Adrien told him.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And so Adrien manages to convince his father to join the Anti-Lila Crusade, his extensive and formidable legal team poised to strike. Gabriel is a horrible father, I'll admit it, but in this he acts somewhat like a human being.
> 
> Poor Adrien. Poor, poor Adrien. I really hated having to subject him to this. What Lila says is quite true; sexual harassment of women is unacceptable, I will say that here and now, but it happens to men as well and in their case it doesn't often go in their favour. A belief persists that men cannot be sexually assaulted or abused, and Lila intends to milk that for all it's worth. And she would go ahead with her threat, mark my words. 
> 
> Next chapter will see Marinette bring in Jagged Stone and Alya talking to Nadja Chamack, in addition to the three teachers being brought in. Lila has no idea of what's looming on her horizon. (maniacal laugh)


	11. Chapter Eleven

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The adults are brought in on the plan and Operation: Crumbling Down moves into it's final stages. Lila has no idea what hell is coming her way.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A nice, long chapter that took a little longer than usual to write because I recently returned to work after being ill for a while and it took a lot out of me. But hopefully this will make up for it.

The final stages of the plan were beginning to move, Marinette thought to herself as she made her way to the hotel suite where Jagged Stone was staying. Technically she should have made an appointment, but Jagged had deemed her his honourary niece and told her she was welcome to drop by at any time. She just hoped she wasn’t interrupting anything important as she knocked on the door, but she needn’t have worried. Penny Rolling, Jagged’s personal assistant and another good friend, beamed to see her.

“Marinette! What a lovely surprise!”, she exclaimed.

“Hi, Penny. Is Jagged here?”, Marinette asked.

“He’s just feeding Fang. Honestly, what sort of crocodile won’t eat fish unless it’s been prepared by a sushi chef?”, Penny said with mild exasperation.

“I’m guessing Fang?”, Marinette asked.

“Ten points to Gryffindor!”, Penny replied.

“Gryffindor? No, no. I’m more of a Ravenclaw. Or a Hufflepuff. Even Pottermore was confused, said I was a Hatstall.”, Marinette said with a giggle.

At that precise moment, Fang himself came waddling in, mouth falling open in delight as he caught sight of Marinette.

“Hello, Fang! Penny was just telling me you were having lunch.”, Marinette said.

The crocodile wagged his tail and rolled over onto his back for Marinette to scratch his belly, making Penny scoff in amusement.

“His lot kill hundreds of people every year. Terror of the Nile, Overlords of the Everglades? More like an anthropomorphised suitcase.”, she said, shaking her head.

“Awww, don’t listen to her, Fang! You can be terrifying if you want to be.”, Marinette cooed.

Fang’s owner chose that moment to enter the room, dashing as ever in his usual black leather with gold accents and his purple-dyed hair. Jagged Stone, one of the most popular musicians of the age and a good friend of Marinette’s, ever since she designed the cover of his last album. A very animated and cheerful man, he lit up as he caught sight of Marinette.

“Marinette! How’s my favourite designer?”, he beamed.

“Been better, thanks.”, Marinette replied.

The rockstar’s face fell as he detected her emotions.

“Your aura’s not very rock-and-roll. Come and sit down, tell Uncle Jagged what’s wrong.”, he said.

Penny ordered refreshments whilst Jagged and Marinette sat themselves down on the overstuffed couch, joining them when the food had arrived.

“So, tell all. What’s wrong?”, Jagged asked, helping himself to a cream cake.

“A few things, actually. Starting with this girl at school.”, Marinette replied.

“Oh? And what’s she been doing, then?”, Jagged asked.

“Among other things, telling lies. Lies about me. And Jagged.”, said Marinette.

Penny sat up sharply; as Jagged’s PA, she was also his legal counsel and charged with reacting to any assaults on his reputation.

“What sort of things has she been saying?”, she asked.

“She’s claimed that Jagged wrote a song about her after she saved his kitten from being run over by an airplane.”, Marinette replied.

Jagged, who had been taking a drink of coffee, explosively spat it back out as he choked in surprise. Penny thumped him hard on the back, but it was a moment before he could speak, going purple in the face.

“She- she said what? I did what for her?”, he asked.

“Wrote a song about her after saving your kitten.”, Marinette repeated calmly.

“My what?! A kitten?! Why would I have a kitten? I’m allergic to them!”, he spluttered.

“Let’s not forget the other thing, you writing a song for a girl who is…….?”, Penny trailed off, looking expectantly at Marinette.

“Fifteen when she made the claim, now verging on seventeen.”, Marinette supplied helpfully.

“And you are now thirty-seven.”, Penny said to Jagged.

As flamboyant and eccentric as he seemed and was, Jagged Stone was not a stupid man and he quickly joined the dots.

“Good gravy! If the media gets the wrong end of the stick with that, I could be accused of courting a minor!”, he exclaimed.

“Precisely. I think it’s time we serve this girl with a slice of humble pie……. and a court order.”, Penny said, already prepared to dial the number of Jagged’s lawyer.

“Well, it’s funny you should mention that, Penny, because I actually came over here to ask for your help with that.”, Marinette said.

Jagged and Penny stared at her.

“Me and my friends are part of a plan to ensure this girl’s downfall, for a variety of reasons. You and me are far from the only people she’s lied about, and she’s also done some pretty unspeakable things. We have evidence against her that’s probably enough for her to be expelled from France and banned from ever returning, but we can always use more.”, Marinette said.

“How can we help?”, Penny asked.

“Simple. You do a small interview debunking Lila’s claims about you and we add it to the growing pile.”, Marinette replied.

“Is that all? I thought you’d be wanting me to have her disappeared or something.”, Jagged laughed.

“Nothing that extreme. Wait, can you have her disappeared?”, Marinette asked him.

Jagged mimed zipping his lips, locking them and tossing away the key. 

“My client reserves the right to remain silent on that one.”, Penny chuckled.

“So, this interview? Name the time and the place.”, Jagged said.

“How does here and now sound?”, Marinette asked.

Before Jagged or Penny could ask, there was a knock on the door.  
“Ah, that must be her now.”, Marinette said.

And sure enough, when Penny opened the door, there stood Alya on the threshold, clutching her phone to her chest and looking like she was on the verge of a heart attack.

“Jagged Stone, Penny Rolling, meet my best friend Alya Cesaire.”, Marinette said.

Alya stood rooted to the spot, clearly overwhelmed by being so close to a musical idol. Marinette grinned to herself; this was probably what she was like whenever she was trying to ask out Adrien. Now Alya was realising just how paralysing idol worship could be. Jagged got to his feet and came to the door.

“Hey there! So you’re Marinette’s best friend, eh? Guess that makes you my friend as well then!”, he exclaimed.

Alya made a burbling noise, tried and failed to speak…….. and then fainted dead away. Jagged, to his credit, refrained from being too acerbic.

“At least she didn’t land on her face like the last one. She tried to sue me for damages, but all I did was smile at her and she fainted.”, he said to himself.

Penny and Marinette hauled the unconscious Alya into the room; Jagged would have helped, but had stood down after both women mentioned how dangerous it would look for him to be seen carrying an unconscious teenager into his room, muttering angrily about pestering paparazzi and perverted publics. Alya was revived in short order, only to spend five minutes in a state of mortification at having fainted in front of Jagged Stone combined with adulation.

“Oh God, I’m so ashamed! I fainted in front of Jagged Stone! Girl, why didn’t you tell me what it feels like to be nervous in a celebrity’s presence?”, she admonished Marinette.

Marinette grinned before replying in a remarkably good imitation of Alya’s voice.

“Girl, you’re overthinking it! Just be yourself!”, she said.

Alya glowered at her.

“Oh! Turning my own words against me, are you? Shame on you, Marinette Dupain-Cheng!”, she said.

Jagged and Penny, who had been watching this exchange with amusement, cleared their throats.

“So, ladies, you wanted an interview?”, Jagged said.

Alya quickly scrambled for her phone, held out by a helpful Penny.

“Thanks. I assume Marinette has filled you in on why?”, Alya asked.

“Oh yes. And let me tell you, this Lila girl’s head is gonna roll for what she’s done!”, Jagged replied.

“Oh, I know. And your testimony is going to be one more step on the metaphorical guillotine.”, Marinette said.

“Does it need to be metaphorical? I mean, I can probably get us an actual guillotine.”, Jagged commented.

“No, Jagged, you can’t.”, Penny told him.

“But couldn’t we try?”, asked Jagged.

“No! Remember the court order?”, Penny said.

Jagged quickly looked very guilty.

“I thought we agreed never to speak of that again.”, he said.

Marinette was tempted to ask, but it was likely not even her status as honourary niece would be sufficient to pry the details out of the two. 

“You ready, Alya?”, she asked her best friend.

“Yep.”, Alya replied, camera phone at the ready.

Jagged leaned back in his seat and scratched Fang’s head.

“Fire away then, Alya.”, he said.

==================================================================

Sabrina Raincomprix was nervous. She was always nervous in some way, but right now she was especially nervous. She was waiting outside her father’s office, a large ringbinder folder on her lap containing a slimmed-down version of the evidence against Lila, as well as the things she was suspected of doing. She believed Marinette about this, she really did, but she was worried that this could get her father in trouble if Lila was somehow able to wriggle out of it. Her father was still somewhat new to being a lieutenant, but it was his dream to rise in the police force and protect Paris and it would break his heart if he got fired. However, everyone had assured her that they had more than enough evidence against Lila to warrant an investigation, if not an arrest, and she knew her father would investigate any threat to the safety of Paris diligently. She jumped slightly as her father’s office door opened and he stepped out, beaming; he rarely saw her when he was on duty.

“Sabrina! What brings you here?”, he asked.

“Hi, Dad. There’s something I need to show you. Something very serious.”, Sabrina replied.

Roger’s eyebrows knitted together in the way they did when he was thinking hard or worried and he ushered her into the office without another word. Most of the space was given over to work, but there were two framed photographs on the desk that Sabrina knew were of herself and her late mother. Rochelle Raincomprix had died five years ago from an aneurysm and both husband and daughter mourned her dearly, with her departure having had a marked effect on them. Sabrina often wondered if her father would ever remarry, but he never acknowledged her when the subject was brought up. But that was by the by as he sat himself down at his desk and looked at her.

“What’s wrong, Sabrina? Has someone hurt you?”, he asked seriously.

“No, Dad. This is about Lila, a girl in my class.”, Sabrina replied.

“Lila? Why? What has she done?”, Roger asked.

“A lot of things, Dad. Terrible, terrible things.”, Sabrina said, very upset.

She pushed the folder across his desk towards him for an answer to his unasked question. Roger opened it without another word and began to read it’s contents. As he read, his eyebrows rose so fast that they looked in danger of flying right off his face, before contracting to enhance the ugly scowl that crossed his face as he read more. By the end of the folder, the policeman’s face was twisted in a mixture of anger and disgust.

“Are you sure all of this is accurate and correct?”, he asked.

“Yes, Dad. Why? Do you think I’m lying?”, Sabrina asked nervously.

“No. I was just trying to comprehend how one person could be so……. loathsome.”, Roger replied.

His fists were clenched with suppressed rage on the desk’s surface and his eyes darted towards the phone, but Sabrina laid a hand on it.  
“Wait. There’s more to see. A video.”, she said.

She took out her USB flash drive and put it down on the desk. Roger picked it up and plugged it in without preamble, wondering with no small amount of trepidation just what could be worse than the contents of that folder. Six minutes later, he was staring at the now blank screen with a look that could have melted plastic. This time his hand really did shoot towards the phone and he was dialling the chief inspector when Sabrina’s hand slammed onto the receiver, cutting it off.

“Dad, wait!”, she shouted.

“Sabrina? Wait? Whatever for? That poisonous little rat tried to kill Ladybug! That’s attempted murder, a very serious crime!”, Roger replied.

“I know, but you can’t arrest her yet! There’s a plan in place!”, Sabrina told him.

“A plan? What sort of plan?”, Roger asked.

Sabrina sat down and took a deep breath before running him through the plan, all of it timed for Monday morning. Roger was doubtful at first, and a nugget of it persisted even at the end, but he had to admit that the kids had it all very well thought out. 

“I admit that I’m impressed, Sabrina, but why should I hold off on arresting her?”, he asked.

“Because Marinette thinks she’s working for Hawk Moth and we need proof of that to really drive the nail in.”, Sabrina replied.

Now here was where Roger had absolutely no response. As a man devoted to law and order, he simply could not fathom a reason as to why anyone would willingly work with that despicable terrorist. The akumatised victims might cause a lot of chaos, damage and destruction but that always ended up fixed by Ladybug and the victims themselves were never in their right mind when they were carrying out their acts, so they were not prosecuted afterwards. But if someone was working with Hawk Moth deliberately, that made them a willing accomplice to terrorism and THAT was a prosecutional offence. Since she was an Italian citizen, and the daughter of a diplomat, incarceration would probably be difficult, but she would certainly be banned from France.

“I see. Clever, but how exactly do you plan to do that?”, he asked.

“All this will be on the news after school begins on Monday morning. We plan to confront Lila in the class with everything we’ve found out, and it’s likely that if she is working with Hawk Moth, she’ll call on him to akumatise her and we’ll get it on video.”, Sabrina replied.

“You plan to confront her with the likelihood that she’ll be akumatised?! Are you mad, Sabrina?!”, Roger demanded, going pale.

“Don’t worry, Dad. Ladybug and Chat Noir have been told about this and will be nearby to deal with her in case she tries it.”, Sabrina told him calmly.

Roger looked at his daughter in surprise; she was no longer timid and withdrawn, but oozing confidence. She knew this plan was going to work and damned if it wasn’t.

“All right. I’ll let you go ahead with this mad plan, but only if I can be there as well.”, he said.

“Actually, that’s part of the plan. And you won’t be alone.”, Sabrina replied.

She pointed to the still-open folder.

“Before school, I need you to go to the Italian Embassy and speak to Lila’s mother. I’m pretty sure she has no idea of what her daughter’s really like, and Lila has been lying to her for months, telling her the school’s been shut for all that time because of the akumas. Tell her what’s really going on and bring her to the school to see for herself.”, Sabrina said.

Roger nodded stiffly. This Lila girl was a clear threat to Paris, and as long as he lived and breathed nobody would do that on his watch.

==================================================================

Chloe Bourgeois was used to getting her way and going where she pleased, so her father’s secretary barely looked up as she stomped towards his office and pushed open the doors. Andre Bourgeois, mayor of Paris, was a large man in his late fifties who was completely dominated by his more formidable wife and daughter. When she wasn’t abusing that to get what she wanted, Chloe often got frustrated at her father’s lack of a spine. So this time, she was going to make him grow one; as much of a bumbler and a coward as he was, Andre was still devoted to trying to be the best mayor he could be and expelling Lie-la from Paris would improve it's fortunes vastly. Her father looked up from the document he was perusing.

“Chloe, dear! What is it?”, he asked.

“I’ve got something for you to see, Daddy. Something serious.”, she said.

If she’d known she’d just said the same thing to her dad as Sabrina had to hers, she would have been so humiliated. Nevertheless, the meeting went by much the same. After seeing the folder and the video, Andre was too shocked to speak for a second. Then something happened to him that never happened; he looked livid, as in commit-murder livid, and Chloe suddenly felt afraid seeing her fat, bumbling father in such rage. But after a moment, he calmed himself down and began to dial his secretary, only for Chloe to slam the phone down.

“Not yet, Daddy! Revenge is a dish best served cold, and it will be served on Monday morning.”, she said.

“Monday morning?”, Andre asked.

“Yes. Watch the news and you’ll see what I mean. If everything goes according to Cesaire and Dupain-Cheng’s plan, Lie-la will soon have no leg to stand on. And that’s where you come in, Daddy.”, Chloe told him.

“Of course, Chloe. I might not be able to pass the death penalty, but after all of that I’ll secure the next best thing.”, Andre growled.

Chloe left the office, smirking to herself as she shot off a quick text. Her mission was accomplished, now all she had to do was sit back and wait for Monday.

==================================================================

As luck would have it, Mr. Damocles, Ms. Bustier and Ms. Mendeleiev were all in the staff room at the same time, so presenting their findings was made much easier. Ms. Mendeleiev’s reaction had been curious; she had leafed through a few pages, huffed to herself before closing the folder and then sat back with a cup of coffee and some toffee popcorn to watch the other two read theirs. When they’d finished reading, Mr. Damocles was looking like he’d swallowed a lemon and Ms. Bustier had turned white as a sheet.

“So, basically, she fooled you good.”, Alix said bluntly.

“Alix!”, Rose admonished her.

But Ms. Mendeleiev held up a hand.

“No. Ms. Kubdel is right. I warned you both about how Ms. Rossi was deceitful and manipulative, but you didn’t listen to me. It took your students, Caline, your STUDENTS, to get you to see the truth I could see without my glasses!”, she snapped at her white-faced colleague.

She turned to Mr. Damocles.

“And you, Theseus. I told you time and time again to contact Ms. Rossi’s mother and get the facts straight, as well as the fact that Marinette was the last person in the world who would push anyone down the stairs or steal something. But did you listen? No. Instead, you took Ms. Rossi at her word and expelled Marinette, which nearly resulted in half the school being akumatised all at once.”, Ms. Mendeleiev continued.

She took a swig of her coffee.

“I know both of you mean well and are decent people at heart, but you need to understand how badly you messed up. The school board will investigate this, and you’ll both probably be suspended, if not fired, and made to go through a course to properly tackle bullying like this.”, she said.

This seemed to stir Ms. Bustier and she fell forwards onto the table, her frame shaking with sobs. 

“Oh, what have I done? I don’t deserve to be a teacher! I’ve failed each and every one of my students! Worse, I failed my best student! I should never have believed Lila’s claims about Marinette!”, she sobbed.

The class shifted nervously, wanting to comfort her but also realising that she had to realise her own failings and deal with them. Ms. Mendeleiev, her face softening slightly, patted her colleague on the back.

“All true, Caline. And there will be time to make it up to her later. But for now, you need to get the wool out of your eyes and ears and act like a proper teacher. These kids, whilst some of the poorest science students I’ve ever had, are nonetheless clever and resourceful enough to have brought all of this together. So, do what needs to be done.”, she said.

Ms. Bustier raised her head and her face hardened with resolve.

“I will.”, she said in a dangerous voice.

“And so will I.”, said Mr. Damocles.

The old headmaster looked weary and grey, and the sadness and shame he felt seemed to have aged him fifty years in a few moments. But he got to his feet and faced his students with all the dignity of a much younger man.

“I have been a failure of a teacher. I admit it without shame, and I will accept whatever punishment for that failure is coming my way. But before I do that, I will act like I am supposed to and help bring Lila to justice for everything she has done.”, he said.

The class let out a little cheer; it wasn’t often Mr. Damocles said or did anything cool like this. Ms. Bustier and Ms. Mendeleiev stood up as well.

“So will I. If it’s the last thing I do, I’ll bring down that poisonous little rat!”, seethed Ms. Bustier.

“Sounds good. But how will you do that?”, Ms. Mendeleiev asked, looking slightly proud.

“Don’t you remember, Danica? I am the Owl, and owls hunt rats.”, Mr. Damocles replied.

The class exchanged smiles; three more allies for the road.

==================================================================

Alya was sweating like all hell as she waited nervously in the reception room of the TVi studios. Marinette had gone on to talk to Nadja Chamack, whom she knew through babysitting her daughter, about the potential story they were about to break. Alya’s fingers kept going down to clutch the silver attache case containing all the evidence she intended to present to the news reporter, whom she greatly admired and aspired to be like. Hopefully, this would finally bring down Lila and she could atone for her mistakes with Marinette. The blue-haired girl might have forgiven her, or at least started to, but Alya’s conscience was still pained and she would not forgive herself for quite some time. She jumped as her phone pinged with a message from Marinette, saying that Nadja was ready to see her. Swallowing, she got up and took the lift to the fifth floor before knocking on the door of Nadja’s office. The reporter herself opened it, smiling in a friendly way as she beckoned her in.

“Ah. You must be Alya. Come in and take a seat.”, she said.

Alya sat down in the seat next to Marinette, who gave her a reassuring smile as Nadja sat down opposite the two girls.

“Now, Marinette tells me you have something to show me about a potential story?”, she asked.

“Yes, Mrs. Chamack. You might know me as the founder and editor of the Ladyblog.”, Alya began.

“Yes. Fine work, if a bit unrefined, but it shows great promise from one so young.”, Nadja said.

Alya took a moment to compose herself there; Nadja Chamack thought her Ladyblog was good!

“Well, I was taking some footage of an akuma attack about a week ago and I caught something…….. shocking and unexpected.”, she said.

She took out her phone and handed it over, showing the video ready to be played.

“I think it’s best if you see it for yourself.”, she said.

Nadja took the phone and played the video. Alya could predict her reaction, but it was still entertaining to watch and Nadja did not disappoint. Her face actually turned the same colour as her hair, which would have been funny had the moment not been so serious. When she set the phone down, she was trembling with anger.

“I see. This is…….. this is major. An attempted murder of a superhero caught on camera. I assume this video is genuine?”, Nadja asked.

“Of course it is. You can put it through the wringer if you like, but it’s 100% real footage.”, Alya replied.

“We will. I believe you, Alya, I do, but you know that sources need to be checked.”, Nadja said gently.

She expected Alya to blow up, to be offended at the idea of her source being questionable, but the girl sighed and looked at her feet.

“I know. It’s because I didn’t check my sources at first that I’m here, and why I nearly lost my best friend. The girl in that video, Lila Rossi, has been lying to us all about so many things. She claimed she was Ladybug’s best friend, which I believed, and I put that interview on my blog without checking with Ladybug herself. I was an idiot, and I’ve sworn that I’ll fix that mistake.”, she said.

Nadja was surprised; Alya could have lied and covered up her mistakes, but here she was owning up to them despite knowing that said mistakes could affect her future dreams. But that showed honesty and integrity, both key to being a good journalist, and she was also showing genuine desire and proof to fix her mistakes.

“I can see that. Of course, this video is excellent proof but Marinette said there was more?”, Nadja pressed.

Alya grimaced.

“Oh, much more.”, she said.

And she slid the silver attache case across the desk. Nadja read through what was in it, her snarl of anger and disgust becoming even more pronounced with each word. When she’d finished reading, she looked ready to kill.

“In all my years as a journalist, I’ve sworn never to take pleasure in exposes like this. But now I’m going to have to break that promise.”, she said.

She got to her feet, snapping the attache case closed.

“Come on! We’re going to see Arlette about this.”, she said.

Arlette was a senior producer and Nadja’s immediate superior, as well as being in charge of the coveted Prime Time slots. Noted for being exceedingly hard to please, she allowed only the best and most exclusive exposes on her slots. As such, she was not immediately impressed by Nadja barging in with two teenage girls in tow.

“What is it, Nadja? If this is about another slot for Sunday you can forget it! I already told you it’s filled.”, she snapped.

“It’s not. These two girls have brought in perhaps the biggest story we’ve run so far.”, Nadja replied.

And she slammed the case down in front of Arlette. After a review, Arlette was screaming into the phone to free up a slot.

“Monday morning! It needs to be Monday morning!”, Marinette said.

“Monday morning? Why wait until then?! This is a major scoop!”, Arlette protested.

“Because we have a plan! And it needs to be done on Monday morning or else all of this work will be for nothing!”, Marinette replied angrily.

The girl’s tone gave Arlette pause, something that had never happened before. 

“Fine. You have five minutes to convince me.”, she said.

But it was Alya who spoke next.

“We need it to take place on Monday because we need to keep this Lila girl cornered.”, she said.

“Why?”, Arlette asked, already moving to pick up her phone again.

“Because we suspect that she’s working for Hawk Moth.”, Alya replied.

Arlette froze; now THAT was an interesting scoop, and a major one, especially if it led to the discovery of Hawk Moth’s true identity.

“OK, you have my attention. How do you plan on getting her to confess this?”, she asked.

“We show the news broadcast in our class and corner her with the truth that we know about her. If our hunch is correct, she’ll either grab any akuma that shows up or openly call on Hawk Moth to send one to her……. which one of our friends will catch on video.”, Alya replied.

“And even if she doesn’t, you still have the video footage of her deliberately trying to kill Ladybug, which the hero herself can confirm.”, Marinette pointed out.

Arlette weighed it over in her mind; this was already the scoop of the year, barring the revelation of Hawk Moth’s, Ladybug and Chat Noir’s secret identities. Getting the girl to admit she was helping a terrorist would just be even more icing on the cake. Though she was still tempted to just go ahead with the story, the follow-up was too juicy to ignore.

“Very well, you’ve convinced me.”, she said.

She turned to Nadja.

“Nadja, I want you to cover this story on the Monday morning news. And I want this girl on the show with you.”, she said, pointing at Alya.

Alya looked like a deer caught in headlights.

“You want me? On Prime Time live?”, she asked incredulously.

“Well, you were the brilliant and intrepid reporter who discovered this story. It seems only fitting that you should present it all in person on the screen.”, Arlette told her.

Alya was too overcome by this to speak for several moments, but Marinette was wise to it and pushed a chair under her for her to sit in so she could lose her footing in a dignified manner. Nadja escorted them out of the studios, wishing them both luck with Lila and congratulating Alya.

“I’ll see you first thing on Monday morning. And remember to dress nicely; first impressions work wonders.”, she advised.

The moment Nadja had gone back inside, both girls squealed and seized each other, Alya swinging the smaller and lighter Marinette around with ease.

“Girl, we did it! We actually did it!”, she exclaimed in delight.

“Not yet, Alya. We still have to get Lila on Monday, remember?”, Marinette reminded her.

“I know, but everything’s in place! Even if she doesn’t confess, we’ve got enough to utterly ruin that girl forever! I know that’s not a nice thing to say, but I can’t help it.”, Alya went on.

Marinette couldn’t help but agree. She knew she shouldn’t take any joy in bad things happening to people, but Lila was just such a thoroughly repellant excuse for a human being. She thought of Giselle, a lovely and kind girl whose dreams of working as a nurse would never come to fruition because of Lila’s lies; she thought of Luigi, who had been forcibly outed in his village after Lila photographed him kissing another boy and sent it to everyone because he didn’t believe her lies; she thought of Donna, whose friends all abandoned her when drugs were found in her locker; of Kevin, who had been framed for cheating on his girlfriend because he disagreed with Lila’s claims. All of them whose lives had been ruined by the spiteful and petty girl, whose own reckoning was imminent. She thought of her own life, how it nearly joined theirs as being ruined, and her heart hardened; sometimes, there were those who were just evil and needed to be taken down. As Alya called up Nino and began to gabble excitedly, she called Adrien and was surprised to find herself able to talk to him without stuttering.   
“This is Marinette. We just secured the press release for Monday. Phase three is in it’s final stages.”, she said.

“Good. My father’s agreed to help. This bitch is going down.”, Adrien replied with a venomous inflection.

“Oh, yes. Yes, she is.”, Marinette said, with a smile.

A smile that was echoed by Lady Karma as she watched the wheels turn on the final phase of the plan. Sometimes, she really loved her job.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So we can add Jagged Stone, Officer Raincomprix, Mayor Bourgeois, the three teachers and Nadja Chamack all gunning for Lila. 
> 
> In regards to Ms. Mendeleiev, I picked Danica for her name because I thought a name that began with D suited her well. Mr. Damocles and Ms. Bustier received a well-earned tongue-lashing on how much they failed as educators, but with room for redemption and improvement. 
> 
> The four names at the end were ones I thought of as Lila's previous victims. There were more, of course, but those four are the ones Marinette recalls with the most clarity. Giselle killed herself, Luigi and Donna almost gave into their despair and poor Kevin ended up with a reputation as a serial adulterer thanks to Lila when he was devoted to his girlfriend of four years. 
> 
> Next chapter will see the promised exposure and introduce Lila's mother to the scene. Poor woman.


	12. Chapter Twelve

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> This is it. The day of reckoning. Part one of the exposure, humiliation and ultimate downfall of Lila Rossi.

Monday dawned bright and sunny, with nothing in the air to suggest it would be a day of monumental changes and revelations. Lila Rossi got ready for school in her usual fashion, unaware of the forces at work in plotting against her. Her mother had already left for the embassy and she was busy running through a few scenarios where she could make Marinette look bad, as well as remind Adrien of her little ultimatum. She would prefer Adrien to remain as he was, but if she had to break him in order to keep him under her heel then she would. And the best way to do that would be to make sure she was all he had, by driving away all his friends. She smirked as she thought of this.

*

Officer Roger Raincomprix pulled up outside the Italian Embassy in his squad car, running through his plan. He needed to find Signora Rossi and bring her to the school in time for the 9:00 news broadcast, which might be more difficult than he thought. Fortunately, the senior ambassador was not exceptionally busy that morning and was, in fact, eager to talk to a member of the police force because she was concerned about the akumas. He only had to wait five minutes before her secretary told him to go in. Signora Rossi was seated behind her desk, a very pretty woman in her late thirties who smiled very warmly to see him. Roger felt himself flush slightly when she did.

“Ah, benvenuto! Welcome! Please, have a seat!”, she said.  
He did so, studying this woman to see if he could find any resemblance to the poisonous little viper who was her spawn. He could see some of the physical resemblances, particularly around the eyes, but there was nothing about her that seemed false. She seemed to notice him studying her and her face flushed slightly.

“Um, would you like a coffee or something, officer?”, she asked.

“No thank you, signora. I’d rather just get down to business.”, he replied.

“Of course. I wanted to talk to you about the concerns I have regarding the akuma incidents taking place in Paris.”, Signora Rossi said.

“Concerns? Signora, they do happen regularly but the police are unfortunately unable to do much about them. Ladybug and Chat Noir are deferred to on that matter, and they do a stellar job of it.”, Roger replied.

To his surprise, Signora Rossi’s brow furrowed in confusion.

“Is that so, officer? Because my daughter has informed me that Ladybug has been doing an extremely poor job of containing the akumas, to the extent that her school has been closed for months.”, she said.

Roger’s eyebrows shot up on hearing that; had Lila been lying to her own mother? But then, that made sense now that he remembered the truancy charge Sabrina had brought up. If Lila had been staying off for so long without actually travelling anywhere, she had to have somehow coerced or deceived her mother into letting her stay at home. 

“Really? If I may ask, what school does your daughter attend?”, he asked.

“College Francoise Dupont. Why?”, Signora Rossi replied.

“That is the same school my daughter attends. And it has not been closed for months. Akuma attacks, whilst fairly common and destructive, are nevertheless easily fixed by Ladybug’s powers. The schools have been operating as normal.” Roger said.

Signora Rossi looked like she’d just been slapped in the face.  
“But that’s impossible. Lila told me her school had been shut down for months.”, she said.

“If I may, did you call the school yourself and find out the situation?”, Roger asked.

“No. No, I did not. My work here often keeps me extremely busy and Lila said she’d tell me when it reopened.”, Signora Rossi replied.

There was a look of dawning comprehension on her face, as she realised she might just have been had. 

“Hold on a second, officer. Why exactly did you want to see me this morning?”, she asked.

“It is about your daughter, signora. In addition to her long absences from school, which is truancy, there are also instances of bullying, false testimony and sexual harassment of a classmate.”, he said.

Signora Rossi turned pale and slumped in her seat. Roger waited patiently for her reaction, wondering if she would accept this or fervently deny it. Fortunately, he didn’t have to wait long. She reached for her phone and dialled her secretary.

“Luisa, cancel my appointments for this morning. I have urgent personal business to attend to.”, she said.

Then she stood up and retrieved her coat and handbag.

“It’s time to get to the bottom of this. If I could impose upon you for a lift, it would be greatly appreciated, officer……?”, she trailed off.

“Raincomprix. But you can call me Roger.”, he replied, tipping his hat.

“Roger, then. Would you mind driving me to the school?”, she asked.

“Of course not. After you, signora.”, Roger said, stepping aside for her.

“I don’t know precisely what’s going on here, but that girl has a lot of explaining to do.”, Signora Rossi muttered to herself as she walked out.

Roger nodded in response. Oh, yes she does.

*

Ms. Bustier’s class were all nervous and jittery that morning. This was it, the moment of reckoning, what all their hard work had been building towards, and they were scared as hell that it wasn’t going to go right even with all the variables checked and every base covered. Alya was the only one absent, as she was already at the TVi studio to give her presentation along with Nadja, but Adrien was sitting in her seat for moral support for Marinette. Marc was also present, sitting in front of Nathaniel in the seat next to Ivan; as one of those who helped bust Lila and not willing to leave his boyfriend alone with her, he’d refused to leave. Markov was hovering next to Max, ready to record the situation and send it live to Alya’s phone. Everything and everyone was ready; the only thing missing was Lila. Eyes kept darting nervously towards the door or checking their watches, but they needn’t have worried. Lila came strolling in, all smiles as always and gushing about how amazing and magical her weekend had been. Her smile faded as she caught sight of Adrien and Marinette sitting together and a look of pure anger crossed her face before she hitched her sickly sweet demeanour back onto it.

“Oh, Adrien! I was wondering if you could help me take notes since my wrist is acting up again. It’s been doing it since our last shoot. Remember?”, she asked.

She said it nicely enough, but Adrien read the warning note in her tone; stay in line and do what I say, or else. He wanted to whimper and curl in on himself, but Marinette laid a hand on his arm comfortingly and her gaze gave him strength. Odd, only Ladybug’s eyes could do that.

“Actually, Lila, I already agreed to help Marinette with hers since she has to double for Alya.”, he replied politely.  
Lila only now noticed that Alya was absent, but paid it no mind. Getting Adrien away from Marinette was her primary concern right now.

“But surely Nino could do that? I mean, she is his girlfriend.”, she pressed.

“Sorry, dudette. Alya said my handwriting is harder to read than hieroglyphics.”, Nino joked.

“I can help you, Lila.”, Nathaniel volunteered, thoughts of Marc keeping him smiling.

Lila growled angrily under her breath as her control slipped away, but before she could try another excuse the classroom door opened and Ms. Bustier entered, looking very pale but determined.

“Good morning, class.”, she said.

“Good morning, Ms. Bustier.”, they all chorused. 

“Lila, please take your seat so we can begin.”, Ms. Bustier said.

“Oh, but Ms. Bustier, I was wondering if I could sit next to Adrien because of my-”, Lila began.

“I said sit down. Now, please.”, the teacher snapped, cutting across her.

Lila scurried up to her seat next to Nathaniel and sat down without another word, glaring angrily at the teacher. Ms. Bustier took the register as per usual, then cleared her throat.

“As I’m sure you’ve noticed, Alya is not here this morning. That is because she is presently at the TVi studios, waiting to give an interview with Ms. Nadja Chamack, and so the entire school is being given the privilege of watching it live.”, she said.

There was an exchange of excited looks throughout the class, except from Lila who thought angrily to herself why Alya had not told her this.

“I haven’t been given many details, but it apparently pertains to someone who claims to be Ladybug’s best friend.”, Ms. Bustier continued.

That made Lila look up quickly. Alya hadn’t restored Lila’s interview to the Ladyblog and avoided Lila’s questions as to why. Had she been secretly planning to shoot her to fame on live TV? If she had been, that would make her famous! This, she could work with. She tossed her hair around, not caring that it whipped Nathaniel’s ear, and preened herself. Ms. Bustier switched on the projector and switched it to Prime Time just in time to catch the opening titles of the morning news. Sure enough, there was Alya with Nadja Chamack, looking very smart in a grey trouser suit and with a silver attache case by her feet.

“Don’t be bemused, it’s just the news. I’m Nadja Chamack, coming to you live with a very special expose. I’m joined this morning by Alya Cesaire, founder of the exclusive Ladyblog and the one in charge of this special scoop. Thank you for joining us this morning, Alya.”, Nadja said.

“Great to be here, Nadja.”, Alya replied.

Marinette was proud; Alya had to be nervous as hell but she wasn’t showing one iota of fear. She looked and sounded every bit the professional journalist. Nino sighed happily; yep, that was his girlfriend.

“So, Alya, what first brought you to this point?”, Nadja asked.

“It was last week, Nadja, during the akuma attack on Wednesday. I was filming the akuma as it was fighting Ladybug and Chat Noir, and then I saw Lila Rossi.”, Alya replied.

Lila tensed suddenly. Wait, last Wednesday? That was when she pushed the wall onto Ladybug. Could Alya have seen her do that? She felt cold and icy fear shoot through her as the broadcast continued.

“Lila had claimed she was Ladybug’s best friend and I posted an interview with her regarding that on my blog. However, what I saw shocked me to the core.”, Alya said.  
Both women turned to look at a screen behind them, which showed the akuma battle of last Wednesday. Alya’s camera took in some pretty good shots of the battle, then panned up to the mezzanine level.

“I should inform the viewers that this footage has been tested extensively and proven to be 100% genuine. You may also find the following images quite shocking.”, Alya said to the audience.

There was an excellent shot of Lila stepping up to the section of crumbling wall and pushing it, causing it to fall and land directly on Ladybug as she stood beneath it. The now shaky camera lingered on Lila as she stood on the precipice and gloated before cutting to black. Nadja and Alya turned back to the camera.

“As you can see, Lila was not telling the truth in that instance. What kind of best friend would push a wall onto their own friend?”, Alya said with quite a bitter tone.

Lila was starting to hyperventilate; oh, this was bad. How long had Alya had that proof? Could she get it disproven as a fake, or turn on the waterworks and say that Alya had clearly joined Marinette in bullying her? But Alya was continuing to speak.

“But seeing this got me thinking. What else could Lila be lying about? You see, she came to our school and established herself there with very exciting and elaborate stories about things she had done and people she knew. At first we believed her, because with akumas and magic and heroes, very little sounds implausible these days and we also have two well-connected people in our class already.”

“But one of those people had warned me previously that Lila was not an honest person, my own best friend, and I didn’t listen to her because I thought she was being a bit jealous. After seeing this, however, I decided to find out the truth for myself. And what I found was proof that Lila Rossi is nothing but a lying, two-faced, conniving scoundrel!”, Alya hissed.

Another video began to play, showing Ladybug and Chat Noir.

“I secured interviews with some of the people she claimed to know whilst my friends delved deep into her tales to find evidence.”, Alya said.

The video began to play, showing Ladybug and Chat Noir sitting side-by-side and prepared to talk.

“So, Ladybug, you said you had something to tell me about Lila Rossi, your best friend?”, Alya asked in the video.

“Yes, Alya. For starters, she is not my best friend. She is a liar, a liar of the highest degree. She lied about being my best friend, ignoring that fact that it is untrue and could also expose her and her family to danger because it might be believed and they could become targets for people like Hawk Moth.”, Ladybug replied.

“She is also, and I have never said this about anyone before, rotten to the core. After Milady confronted her, Lila developed a grudge against her. She hates Ladybug. I knew that relations were not positive, but I didn’t realise just how much Lila hated Ladybug and how low she would go to hurt her.”, Chat Noir said, an uncharacteristically ugly look on his face.

“I see. Could you elaborate on that, Chat Noir?”, Alya asked.

“When we were fighting the akuma Oni-Chan, who was after Lila for a reason pertaining to Adrien Agreste. Lila pretended to be too hurt to move, but it was a ruse so that I would carry her to safety and leave Ladybug alone to fight the akuma, which at that point was trying to kill her.”, Chat Noir replied.

There was some silence on the video before Alya spoke again.

“So what you’re saying is, Lila is potentially willing to risk the safety of Paris to get Ladybug killed just to settle a petty grudge?”, she asked.

“It would seem that way. We know she has also been akumatised at least twice so far and a suspected third occurrence as well, which means we are especially wary of her.”, Ladybug said crisply.

“I see. Well, thank you for letting me and my viewers know this, Ladybug.”, Alya said.

The video ended, but was then replaced by a second one that showed Jagged Stone on a sofa, looking very annoyed.

“So, Mr. Stone, what response do you have to the claims by Ms. Lila Rossi that you know each other very well?”, Alya’s voice asked.

“I’m sorry, who?”, Jagged replied.

“Lila Rossi. She claims to be a great friend of yours.”, Alya said.

“I’m afraid I have no idea who she is. Never met her or heard of her. And what claims is she making?”, Jagged asked.

“Well, she claims that she rescued your kitten from being run over by an airplane, gaining a hearing problem in the process.”, Alya replied.

“What? A kitten? Why would I have a kitten?! I’m allergic to them, sweet as they are, and my lovely Fang would have it for dinner even if I wasn’t!”, Jagged exclaimed.

“But what about the song she said you wrote about her in thanks for saving it?”, Alya pressed.

“WHAT?! She said that?! I’m in my late thirties, for crying out loud. I don’t go around writing songs about teenage girls!”, Jagged replied.

“I see. Thank you, Mr. Stone.”, Alya said.

The picture cut back to the studio.

“Those interviews are quite incriminating, Ms. Cesaire. Is that all you’ve discovered about this incredibly dishonest girl?”, Nadja asked.

“No, Nadja, and neither is it the worst.”, Alya replied.

She opened her attache case and took out a sheet of paper. 

“My friends read up on Lila’s supposed accomplishments and connections. We found not a single scrap of evidence to support her claims, but we did find tales of people whom she’d hurt in the past. At the top of this list was Giselle Dumont.”, she said.

And now Lila was really worried. She remembered Giselle, so like Marinette with her sickeningly wholesome sweetness and popularity. Oh, how she’d revelled in destroying her reputation, seeing all of her friends cast the girl aside to flock to her like sheep and leave her alone and friendless. When the girl had killed herself, that was just the icing on the cake as she moved away. She’d thought nobody would ever remember or care about Giselle, but if someone had remembered her and joined the dots……..

“Giselle Dumont was fourteen years old when she first encountered Lila. She was popular, kind, sweet, generous and welcoming and harboured desires of becoming a nurse. She wanted to help people, and when Lila arrived she did try and help. When she realised Lila was lying she confronted her, asking her to stop. In response, Lila proceeded to destroy her life and steal all of her friends, convincing them that Giselle was a mean and jealous bully. She also personally attacked Giselle over her looks, which had always been a difficult thing for the poor girl. Her friends deserted her and some bullied her, manipulated or egged on by Lila. Her parents pulled her out of school and transferred her to another one across town, but Lila did not let up. Insulting and hateful messages, telling her she was worthless and nobody loved her, that this was what she got for standing in her way.”

“This all took a terrible toll on Giselle, who steadily became more withdrawn and lonely as Lila kept hunting her. Eventually, after three months of it non-stop, Giselle couldn’t take it anymore. One day, she took a scarf from her collection, went into her bedroom cupboard and hung herself.”

Alya paused to wipe her eyes.

“Her mother was the one who found her. She still mourns her, even now. When the news spread, Lila was quick to dismiss it as a trick so Giselle could gain fake sympathy points. By the time everyone had realised the truth, Lila was gone, moved away. And Giselle’s family and former friends were left to mourn a girl who they loved and had lost through the cruelty and spitefulness of one lying girl.”, she finished.

Nadja passed her a tissue, looking quite upset herself. Alya dabbed her eyes before turning to look directly at the screen. 

“You see, my dear viewers. This is the truth about Lila Rossi. She lies and manipulates and cheats to get what she wants, and if you try and upstage her or point out the truth to her lies then she will destroy your life without any remorse. You want to know why I’m so fierce about this? Because she nearly did it to my best friend, Marinette Dupain-Cheng! If I hadn’t been lucky enough to get that video, I would have been drawn into her web like so many others, turned against my best friend and possibly even been led to bully her into suicide. But now you all know this. You, every single person in Paris who’s watching this, now know the truth about her.”, she said.

Lila finally became aware of the fact that everyone in the class was staring at her with undisguised rage, disgust and fury. Nathaniel was leaning away from her but the look in his eyes was scary; Ivan had stood up and was towering over her, fists clenched with knuckles the size of pebbles. Her eyes darted towards the door, but suddenly Alix was there in front of it, hefting a…….. was that a fire axe? Where did she get that? She looked around wildly, trying to find someone or something to work with, but there was nothing. Even Ms. Bustier, who’d swallowed every sob story and fake illness she’d sold her, was glaring at her like she wanted to kill her. Marinette got to her feet.

“Care to explain this, Lila? If that is even your real name?”, she asked.

Lila glared at her with exceptional hatred, but turned pale at the sound of a very familiar voice from the doorway.

“Oh, it is indeed her real name. And she does indeed have a lot to explain.”

Lila turned to the door, trembling.

“Mamma?”, she asked fearfully.

Signora Claudia Rossi was indeed standing in the doorway, her arms crossed and a look of blazing fury in her eyes. Her tanned face was white with anger and she too was trembling, but in rage rather than fear. Lila felt the walls closing in, clutching at the white scarf she still wore as breathing seemed to become an issue. Tears began to form in her eyes.

“Oh, mamma, thank goodness you’re here! I told you about how Marinette was bullying me! She’s turned everyone against me with evil lies just so she can ruin my life and have Adrien all to herself!”, she sobbed.

It was a good act, almost convincing enough to fool anyone…….. unless they already knew it was engineered to fool them. Signora Rossi turned her eyes onto Adrien for a second, studying him intently.

“Adrien? So this is your supposed boyfriend, the one who is so devoted to you that he can’t stop calling and yet who has never come over to the house so I can meet him?”, she asked, one eyebrow raised.

Adrien made a spluttering noise; Lila had lied to her own mother that he was her boyfriend? Lila sobbed even harder, still falling back on her old tactics even when nobody was fooled by them anymore.

“Mamma, please, why won’t you believe me? Don’t you love me?”, she asked.

“SILENCE!”, Signora Rossi suddenly shrieked.

That shut Lila up, as well as making several others in the class jump. Signora Rossi took a deep breath to compose herself before speaking.

“Love you? Of course I love you, you stupid girl! Why do you think I work such long hours, if not to provide us with a good and stable home where you can enjoy life? As for believing you, I did not want to believe what I was hearing about you because I could not possibly fathom that my own daughter could be capable of such things. But then Officer Raincomprix showed up this morning to inform me of your absences from school, a school you assured me had been closed for months as a result of akumas! And then on the ride over here, I saw the news broadcast!”, she said.  
“But, mamma, that’s not-”, Lila began.

“QUIET! I’m not finished! I learned disturbing things from that broadcast, and now that I connect the dots with our previous places of residence, it starts to make sense. How long have you been doing things like this, hm? How many others like that Giselle girl have had their lives ruined by you when you claim they were bullying you and trying to make your life a misery?”, Signora Rossi asked.

Lila was quickly realising that there were no straws to grasp at here, but then her eyes fell on Adrien and she smirked before jumping at him, looking for all the world like a distressed girlfriend looking to her boyfriend for comfort.

“Adrien, please! Tell her the truth! Tell her why I kept all this secret so I didn’t worry her!”, she cried.

But Adrien shrank away from her and actually raised his arms in a defensive pose, like he was prepared to fight.

“Don’t touch me!”, he almost snarled at her.

Before she could think of a way to remind him of her ultimatum, a familiar cold voice came from the doorway.

“I would highly advise that you heed my son’s advice, Ms. Rossi, unless you want to be in even more trouble.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ooooh, bet none of you were expecting that, were you? With the class' findings about her broadcast live on the news, whose viewer ratings are suddenly shooting sky-high and her mother now aware of what she's been lied to about, Lila's starting to feel the noose tighten around her neck. But the hanged man will kick at anything when the noose starts to tighten around his neck.


	13. Chapter Thirteen

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Gabriel Agreste is here in person! Part two of the Lila exposure and comeuppance shall commence!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Bit of a short one, but I'm trying to map it out for maximum dramatic effect.

Lila’s jaws wasn’t the only one that dropped. Striding into the classroom, resplendent in a white suit jacket and red trousers, was Gabriel Agreste himself. The highly reclusive fashion mogul almost never showed himself in public, so this was a sign that something serious was going down. Adrien in particular suddenly bore a striking resemblance to a guppy at feeding time.

“Father?”, he asked incredulously.

“Yes, Adrien.”, Gabriel replied.

He turned to Signora Rossi.

“You are Ms. Rossi’s mother, I presume?”, he asked.

“Yes. Why? What else has she done now?”, the woman replied.

“I’m so glad you asked. These documents should explain.”, Gabriel said.

Signora Rossi turned to see Nathalie standing next to her, a sheaf of papers in her hand. She took them without a word and skimmed over the top page, her eyebrows shooting up as she saw what it was.

“A lawsuit?! For what?!”, she shrieked.

“Second page, paragraph 4C.”, Nathalie told her emotionlessly.

The Italian woman turned to that page and her face went whiter than ever. She looked up at her daughter and spoke with a shaking voice.

“Lila. Care to explain why you are being served with a lawsuit for sexual harassment and threats of blackmail and sexual assault?”, she asked.

There was dead silence in the classroom as heads turned towards Lila.

“What?”, Marinette said in a deadly whisper.

“Did she seriously just say……..?”, Kim asked, trailing off.

Lila felt the burning anger in Marinette’s gaze but paid it no mind. She’d warned Adrien that nobody would believe a male could be sexually harassed or assaulted; now she’d prove it.

“He’s lying, mamma! He’s the one who harassed me! When I refused to go along with it, he said he’d tell his father that I did it!”, she sobbed.

What came next was a total shock. Gabriel stared at her for a second, then did something no one in that room would ever forget. He threw his head back and laughed. Actually laughed. It looked and sounded so unnatural that even Nathalie stared at him in shock. 

“You seriously think that you can still lie your way out of this? One thing you don’t know about my son is that he would never make accusations like this without proof, and neither would I go ahead with a lawsuit without proof of the crime as well.”, he said.

“Proof? What proof?”, Lila demanded, real fear and shock in her voice now.

“Adrien? Would you be so kind as to oblige Ms. Rossi’s questions?”, Gabriel asked.

Adrien was only off the ball by about a second. 

“Of course, Father.”, he said.

He shot a triumphant look at Lila as he reached into his pocket and took out his phone, switching to the recording which he held out at full volume, at the same time giving what could only be described as the cheesiest of Cheshire cat smiles.

“I’m not just a pretty face, Lila.”, he said.

And now it was Lila’s turn to go white as she heard her own voice utter that venomous and deadly threat to Adrien. But how could he possibly have gotten that, unless…….. he’d had his phone on him and on record when he tried to get her to back off! That conniving little snake! Oh, how he’d pay for this! But now the recording was over and she became painfully aware of just how much hatred was being directed at her. Every single person in the class, including Rose and Mylene, now looked like they wanted to kill her and Marinette was actually advancing on her.

“You threatened to rape Adrien? Is that true? Tell me, is that true?”, she demanded.

Against her will, Lila felt her feet begin to back away from Marinette, whose usual sweet demeanour had given way to something primal and terrifying, like a wild cat about to pounce on it's prey. She wracked her brains for another lie, but for once no half-truth or obfuscation rolled easily off her tongue. She was good and cornered, with no way of lying her way out of this one. But this also mean that she now had nothing to lose, and that could make her even more dangerous than ever. She grinned her most evil and satisfied grin and was pleased to see everyone flinch backwards in horror as they saw her true face.

“So what if it is? Adrien was mine, he belonged to me. Whether or not he accepted that didn’t matter.”, she snarled.

There were quite a few gasps of horror, outrage and disgust at that and Gabriel inhaled sharply.

“I see. Thank you for clarifying that for me, and also the millions of viewers who happen to be seeing this live.”, he said.

“What?”, Lila snapped.

“Unless I miss my guess, that robot there is recording all of this and sending it to the TVi studios as we speak.”, Gabriel replied.

Lila whipped round to see Markov hovering next to Max, whose face was a mask of savage triumph, with a screen recording every single exchange. She looked at the projector screen, still on the broadcast, and saw Alya and Nadja turn to look at the screen with identical looks of triumph and anger.

“There you have it, folks. From the mouth of the criminal herself. Not only is she a liar and a manipulator, but a prospective rapist as well.”, Alya said, looking furious.

Lila could only stammer as she realised her last trump card had failed her. 

“But, but, but…..”, she said.

“I believe that concludes our business here. I will see you in court, Ms. Rossi. Good day to you all.”, Gabriel said.

"But..... but you asked me to spy on Adrien! You hired me to do that!", Lila shrieked, determined to take him down with her.

A few strange looks were thrown at Gabriel, who replied with an icy smile.

"Indeed. I did that because I thought you were an appropriate choice of companion and friend for my son, to be his friend and keep any inappropriate influences away from him. But now I can see that was an exceedingly foolish thing to do. Despite your claims about his classmates, the only one here who made any attempt to exploit him for what he represents was, in fact, you. So you can hereby consider our arrangement terminated."

And he swept from the room with Nathalie on his heels. As they descended the stairs, however, both dodged into one of the deserted classrooms and Nathalie locked the door.

“Is it secure, Nathalie?”, Gabriel asked.

“Yes, sir.”, Nathalie replied.

“Good. Nooroo, dark wings rise!”, Gabriel commanded.

In a flash of dark purple energy, Gabriel was transformed into Hawk Moth. He opened the top of his cane and a little black and purple butterfly, his emergency akuma, fluttered out and headed up towards the window.

“And now to add an unexpected ingredient to this high-pressure situation. Off you go, my little akuma!”, Hawk Moth purred.

In the classroom, Lila was now really backed into a corner as everyone was on their feet and advancing on her, more than a few shouting and yelling. Officer Raincomprix took out a pair of handcuffs.

“What are you going to use those for?”, Lila asked, now really scared.  
“Arrest you, what else?”, the police officer replied coldly

“For what?”, Lila asked, looking around frantically for a way out of this situation.

“For what? Are you really that delusional?!”, Nino demanded.

“You threatened to rape my Adrikins! If I had my way, you’d be guillotined on the steps of City Hall!”, Chloe stormed.

“I’ll lend you this.”, Alix said, holding up her fire axe.

Lila was now completely hemmed in.

“Just give up, Lila! You’ve got nothing and no one to save you now!”, Kim said.

Just then, Lila saw something come in through the open classroom door behind them. A familiar black and purple butterfly. At the sight of it, her eyes narrowed and she smirked evilly.

“That’s what you think.”, she sneered.

And she stretched her arm up high.

“Hawk Moth! Akumatise me!”, she cried.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A little twist on the story. Gabriel and Nathalie were there, all right, but now so is Hawk Moth. And now an akuma is within Lila's grasp. How will that end, I wonder?


	14. Chapter Fourteen

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> And the third and final part of Lila's takedown.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A shout-out to BenRG who provided an inspiration for Hawk Moth in this chapter. I hope you like it.

Kim was the first to see the akuma.

“Oh, shit!”, he exclaimed, pulling his boyfriend Max close to his chest.

The sight of the dreaded purple butterfly sent everyone into a panic. Alix actually swung at it with her fire axe, but she missed it and the butterfly landed right in Lila’s outstretched hand. Her smile grew even wider as everyone scrambled away from her.

“Now I’ll make you all suffer! By the time I’m done with you, you’ll all be begging me to show mercy!”, she cried exultantly.

And she directed the akuma into her white scarf, the familiar glowing purple aura appearing around her eyes.

“Hawk Moth! Took you long enough! Now give me my powers so I can get my revenge on these pathetic people!”, she said.

But the reply she got was not at all what she expected.

“And why would I do that?”, Hawk Moth purred.

“What?! What do you mean?! Give me powers! Now! Akumatise me properly! You owe me for all the times I’ve done your work!”, she shrieked

“And what work would that be?”, Hawk Moth asked.

“All of it! Volpina! Hero’s Day! Chameleon! Without me, you’ll never defeat Ladybug or get her Miraculous! Without me, you’ll never get anything done!”, Lila raved.

He chuckled, then tutted.

“My dear, dear girl. You severely overestimate your importance on the board. You speak as if you were the castle, or the bishop or the knight or even the queen. But in truth, you are but a mere pawn.”, Hawk Moth said.

“What?!”, Lila screeched.

“You heard me. A pawn. And do you know what the true value of a pawn is?”, Hawk Moth asked.

“What is it then?”, Lila asked, still not seeing where this was going.

“In either lying low enough to not be noticed until the endgame, or to be sacrificed if it is more strategically useful to do so. And I’m afraid your strategic value has just gone down.”, Hawk Moth replied.

“What? But…….”, Lila stammered.

“You have exposed yourself as my willing agent, and are thus no longer useful to me. So I’m afraid I shall have to let you go.”, Hawk Moth said, with a goodly amount of satisfaction in his tone.

Next second, the aura around Lila’s eyes vanished and the butterfly, now a purified white, flew out of Lila’s scarf and fluttered up towards the open window. Heads popped up nervously all over the place, confused at what they had just witnessed.

“What just happened?”, Juleka asked.

“Did Hawk Moth just……. recall an akuma?”, Nathaniel remarked.

“Never seen that before.”, Ivan muttered.

Lila still hadn’t quite realised the truth of the matter, not until the news broadcast (which was still running and still connected to Markov’s live feed) commented.

“I’m not entirely sure what we just witnessed, folks, but I can confirm that Lila Rossi was indeed working with Hawk Moth, as you just saw her confess on live national television.”, Nadja said.

Lila seemed to come back to herself, realising that not only had Hawk Moth set her up and abandoned her, but she had just exposed herself as his willing agent on live television. The whole of France, and quite possibly the entire world, now knew her as a terrorist sympathiser. She let out a feral shriek of frustration and began leaping up and down on the spot, frantically trying to grab the butterfly even though the akuma energy within it was gone.

“No! No! No! No, it can’t end like this! You can’t abandon me like this, Hawk Moth! Akumatise me! Akumatise me! I demand that you akumatise me right now!”, she screamed.

But as she nearly caught it, she felt someone grab hold of the white scarf she was still wearing and yank her right round hard enough to choke her, to find herself facing an absolutely livid Marinette Dupain-Cheng.

“SHUT UP!”, the girl screeched.

And then her fist collided hard with Lila’s nose, breaking it and sending the other girl flying back with enough force that she sailed right over Ms. Bustier’s desk and slammed against the blackboard, before sliding down it to settle in a crumpled, bleeding and unconscious heap on the floor. Marinette rubbed her knuckles, looking both shocked and highly pleased with herself.

“I…… I…… I’m sorry, I just don’t know what came over me.”, she stammered to the shocked class.

There was one shivering second of silence and then the class exploded with noise, everyone whooping and clapping and cheering like mad. They swarmed the bemused Marinette, Kim and Ivan hoisting her up onto their shoulders, and bore her out of the classroom chanting her name.

“MA-RIN-ETTE! MA-RIN-ETTE! MA-RIN-ETTE!”, they cheered.

On the news broadcast, which had still caught the whole thing, Alya stopped clapping to look directly at the screen.

“And that was my best friend, Marinette Dupain-Cheng, punching out the hated liar! Greatest girl I ever met!”

“Indeed. Well, I’m afraid that’s all we have time for right now, but join me again at one o’clock where we’ll be going over everything we’ve just seen!”, Nadja said.

This left only Ms. Rossi, Officer Roger and Ms. Bustier with the unconscious Lila. Roger fitted handcuffs onto her whilst Ms. Bustier went over to the girl’s mother.

“I’m so sorry about this. In hindsight I should have looked closer into Lila’s supposed disabilities and injuries, but none of my students had ever given me a reason to distrust them. I can see now that was a mistake; as a teacher, I have responsibilities and protocol that cannot be ignored no matter how unnecessary I feel they are, and I will face the consequences with dignity.”, she said

Mr. Damocles entered the room at that point, glancing briefly towards the unconscious Lila.

“As will I. I, too, have failed as an educator in that I did not try harder to contact you and I believed all of Lila’s claims without thinking to check them properly. Because of that, I let her get away with so much for so long and I expelled one of our best students on little more than hearsay and coincidence.”, he said.

Signora Rossi finally tore her eyes away from her unconscious daughter, looking haunted and weary and ashamed.

“The fault is mine, as well. I did not think to properly investigate my daughter’s claims about her school, which I should have done in spite of how busy I was. But after hearing all of this, seeing all of this, I cannot help but wonder where I possibly went so wrong with her.”, she muttered.

Nobody could come up with an answer for the poor woman. Meanwhile, Gabriel and Nathalie were just climbing into the car to drive back to the mansion when they saw Marinette being borne across the courtyard on Kim and Ivan’s shoulders, with what looked like the entire school applauding her.

“An impressive girl, that Marinette.”, Nathalie remarked.

“Indeed. I’ll have to keep an eye on her.”, Gabriel replied.

Then they saw the unconscious Lila being loaded into Officer Roger’s police car, Signora Rossi getting into the front with almost mechanical movements. Hard to blame her; she had just had her entire world shaken apart in the space of one morning. Nathalie adjusted the wing mirror and started the engine.

“A pity. She was a useful akuma.”, she said.

“Yes. But one does not continue to use a compromised asset, no matter how valuable it has been in the past. I’m sure I’ll find another one equally capable, if not more so.”, Gabriel remarked.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And so Lila's exposure completes itself with the idiot girl exposing herself on national television as a willing accomplice of Hawk Moth's and then being punched across the room out cold by a really fed-up Marinette. I know she's skinny as a stick compared to the rest of the class, but that doesn't necessarily mean she's weak. And anger can provide quite a boost to one's physical strength in certain circumstances.
> 
> Ms. Bustier and Mr. Damocles will be departing at some point to face the music regarding their respective failures, but will be given a second chance to fix themselves and act like proper teachers. As for poor Ms. Rossi, she might be in for a pleasant surprise. Goodness knows she needs it.
> 
> I apologise for the non-appearance of Ladybug and Chat Noir here, as well as a probably hoped-for final battle against an akumatised Lila, but I despise her so much that I was unwilling to give her even the satisfaction of being akumatised one last time. 
> 
> In regards to Hawk Moth, I always thought that he would regard her as most useful because her powers require her to stay hidden and mislead people, like a mole or a spy. If she's exposed herself as his willing agent, then she's no longer useful to him. Ironically, had she not threatened Adrien then Hawk Moth might not have been so willing to drive the nail in further by getting her to expose herself as his accomplice. So he got her to list her previous acts in his service to really cement her defeat before rescinding her powers. Gabriel might be a bastard, but he's a devious and clever one.


	15. Chapter Fifteen

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Lila's been hauled away while the powers that be debate her fate. Meanwhile, Ladybug and Chat Noir have a little chat about the day's events........ and a lot more besides.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I think we're approaching the end of this story, my friends. But there's a little more in my head so could see one or two more chapters.

In the mayor’s office at City Hall, the now-awake Lila sat with a bandage and ice pack applied to her broken and rapidly swollen nose, in addition to sporting one hell of a shiner over her right eye where Marinette’s fist had hit it after striking her nose, glowering at the floor as she listened to her mother and Officer Roger talk to Mayor Bourgeois. She had committed enough offenses to warrant immediate imprisonment pending a formal trial, but she was smirking as she recalled her diplomatic immunity which would grant her a complete shield from any repercussions this stupid city tried to inflict on her. Her mother might be stupid enough to believe them over her own daughter, but Lila knew she wouldn’t let her be thrown to the wolves. She was her daughter, her own flesh and blood; she wouldn’t do that. So she sat there and smirked, in spite of the pain in her nose, pain that she would inflict on Marinette a thousandfold once Hawk Moth realised his mistake and gave her the powers she rightly deserved to get her revenge. Until……..

“I will waive any immunity.”, said her mother.

Lila’s smirk vanished as suddenly as a lightbulb blowing and she bolted to her feet with a shriek.

“WHAT?!”

This was immediately met with the sound of machine guns being cocked, courtesy of the four GIGN security operatives present in the room to keep an eye on her. A part of her was flattered, seeing as how the elite wing of the French police were only ever deployed for extremely serious issues. She was being held and treated as a terror suspect who was potentially dangerous, hence the presence of officers from France’s elite counter-terrorism force. She reluctantly sat back down as the three other adults glared at her.

“You can’t revoke my immunity!”, Lila protested.

Signora Rossi’s eyes almost popped out of her head.

“Can’t? Of course I can! I have to, in fact. Do you realise how serious this situation currently is for me?!”, she thundered.

“I think it’s more serious for me, considering you’re talking about throwing me in jail!”, Lila threw back.

Her mother threw her arms up in frustration, cursing vociferously in Italian as she did so. 

“You really are a selfish little creature, aren’t you? Well, I’ll explain it to you! I am still the senior Italian ambassador to France, though for how much longer I have no idea, and have just been shown to have a daughter who willingly tried to commit murder of a French citizen and worked with a wanted terrorist! Do you have any idea how much damage that will cause, not only to my career but to the working relations between our two countries?!”

“And even if I did try and let you keep your immunity, I would be overruled and quite likely fired because that would be me trying to help a terror suspect escape arrest and prosecution by the host country! Wars have been started for less!”

Signora Rossi snapped her fingers beneath Lila’s nose, making her jerk her head up.

“Your lies have not just hurt people like Marinette Dupain-Cheng and Adrien Agreste, they’ve hurt everything from your own family to world politics! As it is, I’m expecting my superiors back in Rome to recall me for an explanation and probable investigation into the supposed holidays and travels we’ve been taking according to your tales!”

“Did you not stop to think that eventually, your lies would be exposed in some form? That someone would eventually connect the dots or catch you out? As it is, I’ve had three more lawsuits arrive from people representing Clara Nightingale, Jagged Stone and Prince Ali of Achu suing you for defamation of character, false claims and potential slander, and a fourth from the family of Giselle Dumont, whom you bullied into suicide and gloated about doing it. That’s involuntary manslaughter, which will net you at least ten years in jail once you’re of age!”

Lila had remained completely silent throughout this whole tirade, merely glaring hatefully at her mother.

“I hate you! You’re a horrible mother!”, she cried.

Signora Rossi flinched like she’d been struck by a physical blow. Mayor Bourgeois, who had been regarding the wretched girl with a look of pure disgust throughout the meeting, snapped his fingers at the two officers by the door.

“I think we’ve heard enough from her. Get her out of my sight and lock her away! Under double guard if necessary.”, he snapped.  
The officers nodded silently and all four escorted Lila from the room, her hateful gaze cowed by their presence. When the doors slammed shut behind them, Signora Rossi sank into a chair with her hands over her eyes, her frame sagging with grief and anger. Mayor Bourgeois went over to an ornate glass-fronted cabinet and took out a bottle of wine and some glasses, which he pressed into Signora Rossi’s hand.

“Here. I find this often helps after dealing with my own daughter.”, he said.

“Grazie. Thank you.”, she replied, knocking half of it back in one gulp.

She sighed heavily.

“I just don’t understand it. Normally when your children say they hate you, it’s born of emotion and rarely meant whole-heartedly. But when I looked into Lila’s eyes, I saw that she meant it. She hates me. She really hates me.”, she said.

Tears began to pour down her cheeks and her frame shook with suppressed sobs. It was just sad to see such a strong, fierce and independent woman break down like this, broken by a spiteful and cruel daughter.

“I’m very sorry, Ms. Rossi. I can’t imagine what you must be going through.”, Mayor Bourgeois said.

“No. No, I suppose not.”, Signora Rossi replied.

She took another swig of her wine.

“Let’s see. My daughter turns out to be a lying and manipulating bully who gets a kick out of ruining people’s lives and worked with a noted terrorist, my career as a diplomat which I’ve devoted over ten years of my life to is in jeopardy, if not tatters, and I’m facing lawsuits from at least four celebrities and the family of a girl who my daughter bullied into suicide. And here I thought when I woke up this morning that the hardest thing I’d be facing today would be a talk on fruit imports.”, she said with a snort of mirthless laughter.

Officer Roger ached to go and comfort her, but knew that would hardly be professional. However, Mayor Bourgeois was more perceptive than he let on.

“If you’ll both excuse me, I think I’ll go and oversee the security details once more.”, he said.

And he left the room, leaving Officer Roger and Signora Rossi alone. The police officer sat down after a moment, feeling awkward; he had training for comforting victims of trauma, but this specific circumstance wasn’t in the handbook. So he just sat there, feeling awkward, until Signora Rossi seemed to come back to herself.

“I suppose I have a very uncertain future ahead of me.”, she said.

“It would seem so.”, Roger replied.

“I always thought I was being a good parent, but it seems I have a lot to learn.”, Signora Rossi said.

“You were a good parent to the best of your abilities. But Lila appears to be……. disconnected from society.”, Roger remarked.

A sardonic chuckle from the woman.

“I suppose it must be my fault. That’s how the media will play it, anyway. I was a poor mother or I raised a monster. Truth is, I had no idea of what she was truly like. And what does that make me? An idiot? A monster as well?”, she asked.

“No. No, of course not.”, Roger reassured her.

She looked at him and smiled. The gaze was held for a few seconds, but then the ringing of a mobile phone cut through the room’s silence and Signora Rossi broke off to answer it. She slipped into Italian as she answered and continued to do so as she spoke with whoever was on the other end, likely one of her superiors at the embassy. Though anger flashed in her eyes once or twice, her tone did not change and when the phone call ended she just stared at her phone with a dull expression.  
“Well, I’m now officially suspended from my position pending an investigation. As the relative of a terror suspect and a senior diplomat, my superiors in Rome feel it best that I distance myself from the politics of France for a while.”, she said.

She sighed and put her phone away.

“I worked in my current position for ten years. Ten years! I wanted to help people, to cultivate better working relations between France and Italy so that we could work together to better the planet on a world stage. And now, in the course of a single day, everything I have worked for could well be lost forever.”

“My superiors have also informed me that Lila made many claims about our extensive travels to other countries and extended holidays with celebrities like Prince Ali, all on embassy time and money. I could now be facing serious fraud charges if they rule it as true, because that would be gross misappropriation of embassy time and funds. Did that girl truly not realise the consequences that her lies could cause to others?”, she remarked.

“Based on what I’ve seen and read, that girl was a selfish creature who only cared about herself. She tried to kill Ladybug to satisfy her own petty grudge without realising or caring just how badly that would affect the whole of Paris.”, Roger replied.

“I suppose. In any case, my superiors have consented to allow Lila to be tried here in France, with her immunity fully revoked. Considering the lengthy charges she faces, I’ll probably be here for quite a while.”, Signora Rossi said.

Roger shifted his feet and tried not to look too pleased about that.

“You know, if you’re going to be in Paris for a while and are not currently working, perhaps I could show you some of the sights. Just to help take your mind off things.”, he suggested.

The moment he’d said it, he felt like kicking himself. The woman had just endured unspeakable trauma and tragedy in short order; why on earth would she be interested in a scenic stroll about the town? But, much to his surprise, Signora Rossi did not reply with scathing retorts or looks. Instead, she smiled. Actually smiled, and it was so amazing and out of place that Roger almost missed her reply.

“I’d like that. I’d actually like that very much.”, she said.

And Roger, he was somewhat ashamed to admit, could only smile dumbly in response.

==================================================================

The city looked beautiful as Ladybug stood atop the north belltower of Notre Dame Cathedral. She had different meeting points for Chat Noir and herself based on the topic of discussion; the Eiffel Tower was for Hawk Moth, as that was where he’d first made his appearance (albeit as a cloud of evil-enhanced butterflies), the Arc de Triomphe was for potential new heroes as it was where Carapace made his debut, the Louvre was for discussing the history of the Miraculous and so forth. Notre Dame was for reflection; she could feel the history, the age, the sheer weight of time in the stone beneath her feet. It had stood for over eight hundred years and had witnessed the passing of much of French history. It had stood through the Revolution, being reconsecrated to worship the Cult of Reason and then to the Cult of the Supreme Being as well as enduring partial desecration from ignorant fools who’d destroyed some of it’s statues, and the Second World War. It had stood through so much and Ladybug had deemed it a good place to sit and think about themselves, about their lives and interests and desires and aspirations, but also about major events in their lives. And what had happened today was very major. They might not have gotten Hawk Moth or a clue to his identity, but they had proved that Lila was working with him and had robbed him of a powerful ally; Ladybug knew full-well how dangerous Volpina’s powers of illusion could be. And though it felt wrong to do so, she couldn’t quite dispel the surge of savage pleasure she felt at having finally gotten one over on that conniving little-

“What’re you thinking about that could possibly bring such a smile to your face, Milady?”

Ladybug almost fell off the tower in shock; Chat Noir really did have that catlike tread. Perhaps she should put a bell on him, one that actually rang when he moved instead of being ornamental.

“It’s rude to sneak up on people, Chat Noir. Didn’t your parents teach you good manners?”, she scolded.

“How dare you? My manners are paw-sitively purr-fect.”, Chat Noir replied.  
Ladybug shook her head exasperatedly. 

“Honestly, kitty, you’re impossible.”, she said.

“Don’t you mean im-paw-ssible?”, Chat Noir asked with a grin.

Ladybug opened her mouth to retort, but then closed it.

“OK, I admit that I walked right into that one.”, she said.

Humour over and done with, she sat down on the edge of the tower and motioned for Chat Noir to sit next to her. For a moment they just sat there, legs kicking in the air as they stared up at the stars.

“So, Milady, what’s the story tonight?”, Chat Noir asked after a while.

“Lila.”, Ladybug replied.

Chat Noir’s smile vanished instantly, to be replaced with a highly ugly scowl.

“I see. What about her?”, he asked.

“Mayor Bourgeois has informed me she’ll be remaining in Paris to face her trial, under heavy guard of course. Given how she’s exposed herself as Hawk Moth’s accomplice I don’t anticipate him sending an akuma, but it never hurts to be prepared. An entire squad of the GIGN have been assigned to guard her.”, Ladybug replied.

“Wow. They’re taking this seriously.”, Chat Noir remarked.

“She worked with a terrorist. That tends to be what they deal with.”, Ladybug pointed out.

“I suppose. And what happens to her afterwards?”, Chat Noir asked.  
Ladybug chuckled.

“Given the plethora of evidence against her, no one in their right mind would try and get her acquitted. Since she’s still legally a minor it’s a bit up in the air, but she’ll likely be sentenced to juvenile detention until she’s old enough to begin her official sentence. After the trial, she’ll be sent back to Italy to be placed under psychiatric evaluation.”, she said.

“I don’t envy the psychiatrist who has to examine her mind.”, Chat Noir said.

He jolted as a thought suddenly occurred to him.

“You don’t think Lila could have been Mayura, do you?”, he asked.

Ladybug did not reply for a moment.

“I had considered it, but Mayura was a grown woman when we fought her head-on. Plus, if Lila had had a Miraculous you can bet she would have been boasting about it to no end.”, she said.

“Suppose you’re right. Hawk Moth and Mayura continue to elude us, then, but at least we no longer have to suffer Lila. In both our identities.”, Chat Noir replied.

Ladybug nodded and let out a relieved sigh.

“Yes. Finally, I no longer have to worry about her driving away my friends or stealing my crush from me.”, she said.

Chat Noir’s head shot up.

“Wait, she threatened to take away your friends?”, he asked.

Ladybug realised she might have just said too much.

“Um, never mind. Forget I said that.”, she said.

But Chat Noir’s brain was suddenly going full tilt. Lila had threatened to take away Ladybug’s friends just like how she’d threatened the same with Marinette, whom she hated just as much as Ladybug. And Marinette had been holding her ribs like she was injured on Thursday, like how Ladybug had been hurt when the wall fell on her. And the punch…….. the magnificent upper-cut punch that was enough to send Lila flying across a room that he’d also seen Ladybug inflict on an akuma. Then it hit him like a lightning bolt.

“Marinette?”, he half-whispered, staring at his lady in astonishment.

Ladybug froze like a hunted deer before scrambling to her feet in a very uncharacteristically clumsy way. Except, was it out of character.

“Who, me? No. No, you’ve got it all wrong! I’m not Marinette! As if I could be Marinette, with all her clumsy antics!”, she said.

She said it in the exact same frantically neurotic denial Marinette did when he asked her if she had a crush on him. And now he felt like kicking himself for his complete and utter thick-headedness. Of course she was Marinette! She had the same kind, blue eyes, the same hairstyle (gods, how did he miss that?), she was so selfless and devoted and utterly brilliant. How could he have been so blind?

“It’s OK, Milady. I understand now. You can drop the act.”, he said.

Ladybug stopped her stammering and, for a moment, he thought she would suddenly run off or deny it once more. Then she sighed and her shoulders slumped.

“Fine. I suppose you had to find out sooner or later. Tikki, spots off.”, she said.

And in a flash of pink energy, Marinette Dupain-Cheng stood where Ladybug had been only moments before, her expression a peculiar mix of annoyance and embarrassment. 

“So what gave it away?”, she asked.

“A few things. Mostly your vendetta with Lila, but now that I connect the dots it makes complete sense.”, he said.

“Hmph. Well, you’re right. I’m Ladybug. Drum roll or trumpets sound if you like, but I’d envisioned a slightly grander scenario for an identity reveal.”, she said.

“Like after capturing Hawk Moth?”, Chat Noir asked.

“Something like that.”, Marinette replied.

A small red-and-black creature now floated into view; Tikki, her kwami. Chat Noir smiled to see her, remembering the brief time he’d worked with her as Mister Bug.

“So, is this going to be a mutual identity reveal?”, Marinette asked.

“Don’t know. Why? Do you want me to let the cat out of the bag?”, Chat Noir replied.

“Well, it would be a little unfair if you knew my identity and I didn’t know yours.”, she said.

“I guess. But before I do show myself, can I ask one question?”, Chat Noir asked.

“If you must.”, Marinette replied.

“Would you date me?”, he asked.

She got the most adorable bug-eyed look on her face when he asked that.

“Um, well. I don’t know. There’s only one boy I could ever love, and I just don’t think he can be you.”, she replied.

“Oh? And who might this boy be, Milady? Then I can challenge him for your heart and hand.”, Chat Noir joked.

“Hmph. No offence, kitty, but he’s an absurdly skilled fencer who’d thrash you in a fight.”, Marinette said.

A fencer. Wait, could she be talking about………?

“I keep crushing on him, hoping he’ll notice me eventually, but it’s hopeless. In what world would Adrien Agreste ever fall in love with a lowly baker’s daughter?”, she bemoaned to herself.

And that was when it felt like the world fell away from him. Marinette liked him? But she was Ladybug, who always turned him down because she was in love with Adrien, who was Chat Noir who was in love with Ladybug who was in love with……. 

Chat Noir was like one of those wax statues in the museum, to the extent that Marinette actually thought about poking him to see if he was breathing. Then he spoke, in a strange tone of voice.

“So, you love Adrien Agreste?”, he asked.

“Yes? Didn’t I just say that?”, she replied in confusion.

Chat Noir went quiet again for a moment, then suddenly burst into hysterical and uncontrollable laughter. Marinette stood there, utterly nonplussed and slightly offended as she watched her partner first sink to his knees, leaning on his staff for support, then collapse onto his back, clutching his stomach and laughing until tears poured down his cheeks.  
“What’s so funny? I just basically poured my heart out to you about the boy I love and here you are laughing like an idiot!”, she said indignantly.

Chat Noir just kept laughing, even though it looked like it might be starting to hurt, and she lost her temper and kicked his leg.

“If you don’t stop laughing, I swear I’m gonna kick you off this roof!”, she said.

The leather-clad superhero finally seemed to get a grip on himself enough to clamber back to his feet, still grinning like the cat who got the cream. 

“What, pray tell, was so amusing about my romance woes?”, Marinette asked icily.

“Um, I’m not sure how to say it. So I’ll show you. Plagg, claws in.”, Chat Noir replied.

In a flash of green energy, there stood Adrien Agreste where Chat Noir had been standing. Marinette let out a startled yelp and darted backwards, forgetting that she was standing near the edge of a forty foot drop and almost losing her footing. Adrien leapt forwards and caught her by the arm before pulling her back to safety, causing her to end up pressed against his chest. Marinette almost jumped away from him again on reflex, but remembered the drop behind her and managed to take a couple of steps. She stood there, gawking at Adrien as he stood in front of her, shifting one foot in an awkward fashion.

“Adrien? You’re Chat Noir?”, she asked.

“Yep. Surprise?”, he replied.

He added a little wave and the most adorably awkward smile she’d ever seen, one that set off the usual hummingbird-butterflies in her stomach whenever he looked at her. Her mind spun as she took it in, going over the evidence. How could shy, quiet, sweet, adorable Adrien Agreste be the cheeky, witty, sarcastic, wisecracking and reckless Chat Noir? But then she remembered just how sheltered, strict and regimented his life was; Chat Noir was the side of him he never got to express, the side he yearned to show more often. And then another thought occurred to her, why Chat- Adrien had been so amused. She had told Chat Noir that she was in love with Adrien, who was Chat Noir who had told her he was in love with Ladybug, who was her who was in love with and so on and so forth. She started to giggle herself; forget love triangle, it was more like a love square. Adrien began to laugh as well.

“So you just realised we were both in love with each other but didn’t realise it?”, he asked.

“Yep.”, she replied.

There was a long-suffering sigh from a small black thing hovering above them.

“Finally! It took you both long enough!”, it said.

On closer inspection, Marinette recognised the little black creature as Plagg, the kwami that inhabited the Black Cat Miraculous and whom she’d briefly worked with during her tenure as Lady Noir. Tikki hovered next to him, looking disapproving.

“Plagg! Be nice!”, she scolded.

“Oh, don’t pretend their obliviousness wasn’t irritating for you as well, Sugar Cube!”, Plagg replied.

“That’s not the point, Plagg. Don’t ruin the moment we’ve been waiting months for.”, Tikki said.

Both teens smiled at the antics of their kwamis before turning back to each other.

“So, I guess we’re also both idiots for not realising things sooner. I mean, our Miraculous don’t really disguise us all that well.”, Adrien said.

“Yeah, now that I think about it I can see the similarities with your and Chat Noir’s hair.”, Marinette remarked.

Tikki and Plagg swooped down to eye level.

“The Miraculous actually conjure up a kind of glamour/perception filter that means people deliberately don’t notice or brush aside anything they might recognise about you. It’s not foolproof, though; anybody nosy or perceptive enough can see through the illusion.”, Tikki said.

“Which makes you two some of the densest people I’ve ever worked with! I mean, seriously!”, Plagg exclaimed.

“Plagg! Well, he’s not wrong even if he could be a bit more tactful about it.”, Tikki said.

Both Adrien and Marinette opened their mouths to scold their kwamis, but closed them as they realised they were right. Both began to laugh again.

“We really are idiots, aren’t we?”, Marinette giggled.

“Oh yeah. Big time!”, Adrien replied.

More laughter, then Adrien looked at Marinette in a strange way.

“So, where do we go from here? I mean, relationship wise?”, he asked.

And now here was the dangerous ground. Marinette wanted so desperately to just glomp him in her arms and never let go, but she knew their duties as superheroes must come first.

“I really do love you, Adrien, and I’d love to go out with you now that this whole hilarious misunderstanding is out of the way. But we can’t be a couple. Not right now.”, she said.

Adrien looked so heartbroken for a second that she wanted to kick herself.

“Why not? I thought that now we know who each other are, we could finally try for something deeper.”, he said, sounding upset and angry.

“I know, kitty. And I want that, I really do. But we’re Ladybug and Chat Noir. If Hawk Moth ever learned who one or both of us really are, he could use that against us. I could never forgive myself if that happened to you.”, Marinette replied.

Adrien’s anger deflated; he hadn’t thought of that. 

“Oh. Right. I see.”, he said.

He hung his head in sadness; damn Hawk Moth! Why did he have to ruin so much for so many? Marinette, her expression soft, took a step forward and used a finger to lift his head so he was looking her in the eyes.

“It doesn’t have to be like that forever. We will find Hawk Moth one day and bring him down, and then we can be together. But until that day comes, we can’t be anything more than what we are now.”, she said softly.

Adrien smiled; she was definitely Ladybug without a shadow of a doubt now. 

“I understand, Milady. It’s enough to know that there’s hope for that for now. I can be patient.”, he replied.

“I know you can, kitty. But, just to tide you over……”, Marinette replied.

And then she leaned in and their lips met. Adrien felt warmth spread through his body from where his lips met hers, a beautiful comforting warmth that made him want to cry for some reason. He could smell her particular scent; vanilla, honey and fresh bread. It felt like hours before they parted, but in truth it had only been a few seconds. They remained like that for a few seconds, bodies close and gazes held, before Marinette pulled away.

“That was……. I never dreamed it would be that amazing.”, she said.  
Adrien smiled.

“Neither did I. What it felt like was indescribable. I don’t think I’ll ever forget it.”, he said.

“Thanks. You smell really nice, by the way.”, Marinette replied.

She blushed redder than her Ladybug suit at that, but Adrien only chuckled.

“Really? Despite the camembert I always carry around for that greedy little kwami of mine?”, he asked.

“Well, I did smell that. But there were other scents as well; freshly laundered clothes, warm milk and a kind of sweet cologne.”, Marinette replied.

“Really? Is that what I smell like?”, Adrien asked, sniffing his arm.

“Well, you did to me. What did I smell like?”, Marinette asked.

“Vanilla, honey and freshly baked bread. Gorgeous.”, Adrien replied.

“Oh stop!”, Marinette teased.

Beneath them, the great bells groaned into life as they tolled one in the morning, making the entire cathedral quake with the force of their ringing chorus. Both teens stumbled slightly, clutching each other for support.

“Quasimodo makes himself known.”, Adrien joked.

“Probably reminding us that we have school in the morning.”, Marinette replied.

“Oh yeah. I forgot about that. I wonder how it’ll be tomorrow with Lila exposed and gone.”, Adrien wondered.

“Probably better, but if we don’t get some sleep we’ll never remember any of it.”, Marinette replied.

Both triggered their transformations, but lingered before setting off to their respective residences.

“I do mean it, Milady. I can wait for years for you if I have to.”, Chat Noir said.

“Hopefully you won’t have to. But we can still be friends at school, except a little closer than usual.”, Ladybug replied.

“Don’t play with my heartstrings too much.”, Chat Noir said.

One last giggle and then they were swooping off into the night. As they curled up in their beds, both smiled at the events of the evening……. and the hope of the future they represented.

==================================================================

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So what do you think of that, eh?
> 
> I admit that I had not intended this as a reveal fic, but the pieces all fell together so well in this part. I'm hoping I handled the revelation and interaction well. 
> 
> Signora Rossi deserves some happiness. She and Roger hit it off and she and Sabrina will get on famously, but it doesn't mean they'll get married. Plenty of people these days don't bother with it.
> 
> The presence of Notre Dame might make a few readers tear up. I remember being in shock when I saw the news about the fire, praying that the fire department were able to do something even though I'm not a praying person, and the bittersweet relief that she remains standing and largely intact despite the damage the fire inflicted. Notre Dame represents the heart and soul of France, so I picked her as the place where Ladybug and Chat Noir learn who they really are and affirm their feelings in the sight of Our Lady of Paris.
> 
> Finally, I hope the inclusion of the GIGN wasn't too exaggerated. Akumas might be a bit out of their league, but the GIGN are France's elite and highly venerated counter-terrorism force who are deployed whenever terrorism is afoot in France. Since Lila is a known associate of a noted terrorist, I thought that it would be suitable to have them assigned to keep an eye on her. And even if she were akumatised, they'd give her one hell of a fight.


	16. Chapter Sixteen

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A nice, lighthearted chapter to bridge the gap before the trial, though will acknowledge a couple of serious issues in their past.

A few hours later, both superheroes dragged themselves out of bed for school, managing to remain mostly functional thanks to the cup of coffee their respective guardians provided them with as they went out the door. When they entered the classroom, they were startled to find Ms. Mendeleiev taking the register.

“Yes, yes, yes, come in, come in! I haven’t got all day!”, she snapped.

Marinette sat in her usual seat next to Alya and Adrien plonked himself into his seat beside Nino.

“Why is Ms. Mendeleiev here?”, Marinette asked.

“Girl, don’t you remember? Ms. Bustier has been suspended pending a review of her suitability as a teacher.”, Alya replied.

“Oh. Right, I forgot. Poor Ms. Bustier.”, Marinette said.

“I know. But she said herself that she failed us with Lila and needs to learn her lesson.”, Alya said.

“Suppose you’re right. Curse that girl! I really mean it, I curse her!”, Marinette spat.

Whilst Ms. Mendeleiev busied herself with the lesson plan, Marinette took the opportunity to look around the classroom to see if anything had changed. To her surprise, she spotted Marc up at the back next to Nathaniel, in the seat where Lila used to be. The two boys, one black-haired and the other a redhead, were sitting very closely together as they bent over a book, probably stuff for their comic, but as she watched she saw Nathaniel quickly press a kiss to Marc’s cheek, causing the other boy to blush the same colour as his hoodie. Marinette giggled; the two of them were so cute together. Marc’s bandage was gone and he looked none the worse from Lila pushing him over; that still made her feel enraged, though not as much as what she’d done to Adrien. The bruising on his neck was finally fading, but she wondered about the scars on the inside; Lila’s threats towards him had been awful to hear. Ms. Mendeleiev cleared her throat.

“Now then, class, I’m sure you’re all aware that Ms. Bustier will be indisposed for a while, so I’m taking over her class in the interim. I know my methods are a lot different from hers, but you know the drill; sit still, be quiet, do your work and no one gets hurt.”, she said.

“Yes, Professor McGonagall.”, Adrien said off-handedly.

He clapped his hands over his mouth in horror as he realised what he just said. Quite a few others gasped and winced in anticipation of the explosion. What they did not expect was for Ms. Mendeleiev to draw herself up to her full height and actually smile.

“Ten points from Gryffindor, Mr. Agreste.”

The class stared at her in amazement, mouths open in shock. Nathaniel recovered first.

“Wait. Ms. Mendeleiev has a sense of humour?”, he asked.

“Of course I do, Nathaniel. But during school hours I’m strictly all business. And if I catch you and Mr. Anciel doodling, sketching or canoodling in my class, I’ll make Professor McGonagall look like the Fairy Godmother. Understand?”, Ms. Mendeleiev snapped.

The redhead nodded dumbly, edging away from Marc just to be safe; Ms. Mendeleiev scared him. With a satisfied smirk, Ms. Mendeleiev turned back to the board.

“First lesson of the day is literature…….”, she began.

All in all, having Ms. Mendeleiev as their form teacher wasn’t all bad. She was still strict, grouchy and sharp-tongued but as long as you did the work and paid attention, she wasn’t so bad. Marinette found herself the centre of attention now that Lila was gone, everyone clamouring to congratulate her for exposing the witch and punching her out. Marinette took credit for the second thing, but pointed out that it was actually Alya who exposed her in the first place. As such, the aspiring journalist found herself swamped with admirers. She had already published her videos on the Ladyblog, as well as an apology for not checking her sources about Lila and promising that nothing would appear on her blog again that had not been thoroughly verified. She had also told Marinette, glowing with pride, that she and Nadja were being considered for the Albert Londres prize as a result of their dual expose and many of France’s top journalists and newspeople had contacted her for interviews and apprenticeships. Marinette was happy for her best friend, who had otherwise kept her out of the spotlight; she didn’t mind that because reporters constantly hounding the bakery would affect business and make it difficult for her to sneak out as Ladybug. Then the lunchroom went silent all of a sudden and she turned to see Signora Rossi striding towards her. The dignified-looking woman had regained some of her previous demeanour, but there was a dull sadness in her eyes that refused to go away. However, her voice was quite steady as she spoke.

“Marinette Dupain-Cheng?”, she asked.

“Yes?”, Marinette replied politely.

“I have come to officially apologise on behalf of my family for my daughter’s actions against you. I know she sure as hell won’t do it.”, the woman muttered as an afterthought.

“It’s fine, Signora Rossi. You don’t need to do that.”, Marinette said.

“No, I do. What my daughter did to you, what she had done to so many others I am just now learning about, was unforgivable. She could well have driven you to take your own life like that poor Giselle girl, and stolen away all your friends by making them believe you were someone you weren’t.”, Signora Rossi said.

A few people shifted uncomfortably, presumably remembering how easily they had believed Lila at the beginning. Marinette sensed how uncomfortable the situation could become.

“Signora, would you like to continue this somewhere more private?”, she asked.

“Actually, that sounds like a great idea.”, Signora Rossi replied.

Marinette bid goodbye to everyone, asking Alya to tell Ms. Mendeleiev where she’d gone in case this went on longer than lunch period, and led Signora Rossi out of the school and across the street to the bakery. Signora Rossi was initially hesitant, but upon smelling the rich aroma of baking goods and roasting coffee, consented to stay for a little while. Marinette’s parents were very warm and friendly to her, understanding that the Italian woman had been severely misled by her manipulative rat of a daughter.

“Well, I can see my daughter was wrong about this place as well. I saw the reviews and was tempted to try it, but she told me this place was rubbish.”, Signora Rossi said.

She took a bite of her croissant and was surprised to find it almost melted in her mouth.

“So, Signora Rossi, will you be returning to Italy after your daughter’s trial?”, Sabine asked, taking a sip of her coffee.

“No, no. I think France will be my home for some time. My superiors believe my account that I was not involved in any of Lila’s lies or actions and I think I can return to work once the whole scandal has died down. However long that takes.”, the Italian woman replied.

“I’m sorry you’ve had to endure all of this.”, Tom said.

“Thank you, although your family had a lot more to lose. I spoke with the lawyers of the Dumont family. To think that Lila actually goaded a girl into taking her own life out of simple spite and jealousy…….”, Signora Rossi trailed off.

Marinette decided not to speak; she wasn’t entirely sure that she wouldn’t have followed Giselle’s path had this gone differently. Lila had made it pretty clear that she intended to destroy every aspect of Marinette’s life that was enjoyable, and despair was a powerful thing.

“Well, in any case I’m just glad that she can’t hurt anyone anymore.”, Signora Rossi said.

“We are, too.”, Sabine replied.

“Not that I’m not enjoying our conversation, but isn’t it time for you to get back to school, Marinette?”, Tom asked.

Marinette looked at her watch and yelped; she was late!

“Ms. Mendeleiev is gonna kill me!”, she said as she scrambled about for her things.

“Marinette, we told you she can’t do that. She’s a teacher; they don’t kill students.”, Sabine chuckled.

“Maybe not with her bare hands, but she’ll assign me something lethal, like…… fractions!”, Marinette said in horror.

Sabine merely chuckled at the horrified expressions on her husband and daughter’s faces; they were both clever, but loathed mathematics. Her smile faded slightly as she saw the upset expression on Signora Rossi’s face at the playful and loving family interaction; poor woman.

“Are you all right, Signora Rossi?”, she asked.

“Hmm? Oh! Oh, yes, I’m fine. Just…… thinking.”, the Italian woman replied.

Marinette dashed back to school, almost risking being run over as she ran across the road, and burst into Ms. Mendeleiev’s science class completely out of breath.

“Sorry, Ms. Mendeleiev! I was just talking to Signora Rossi about Lila!”, she gasped.

“It’s all right, Marinette. In fact, we were waiting for you to join us so Ms. Mericourt here could get her speech over with and the lesson can begin.”, the teacher replied.

Marinette looked to see a woman in her early forties standing by the teacher’s desk. She was wearing a grey trouser suit and looked very formidable.

“You are Marinette Dupain-Cheng?”, she asked.

“Yes? How can I help you?”, Marinette replied politely.

“You are being called as a witness at the trial of Lila Rossi. You and your class, since you brilliant and clever young people were the ones who helped bring all of this to light.”, Mericourt said.

And she handed Marinette a sheaf of official-looking documents, which she handed out to her classmates. Most of them looked excited to be going, but a few seemed reluctant; Marinette distinctly heard Nathaniel mutter that he’d be happy to never see her again as long as he lived. She privately agreed, but this was necessary to cement her being put behind bars where she belonged. As she looked over the form, her eyes locked with Adrien and she pointed discretely to her earrings, indicating that she wanted to meet up later in hero form to talk. He nodded slightly and made a show of adjusting his ring to show he got the message.

*

Atop the Palais de Luxembourg, Ladybug and Chat Noir sat for their second meeting in a row this week. Both had the documents Ms. Mericourt had handed their civilian identities with them, which summoned them to Lila’s hearing next week. Normally it would take a lot longer to bring someone to court, particularly a minor, but with the national security implications attached the justice system had accelerated the process considerably. Lila was looking at a pretty lengthy sentence, as well as a probably permanent ban on ever entering France again. Ladybug and Chat Noir were trying to remain objective about it, as she had brought it on herself, but neither could really help but feel immensely satisfied as well considering what the girl had done to them as both heroes and civilians. Good riddance to bad rubbish.

“Of course, milady, I’m assuming you called this meeting to point out the knotty little problem that would occur if the court summons Ladybug and Chat Noir to give testimony while Marinette and Adrien are there to do the same?”, Chat Noir asked.

Ladybug glanced at him in surprise.

“Can you read minds now, kitty?”, she asked.

“No, I’m just a lot smarter than you give me credit for.”, Chat Noir replied with a grin.

“Seems so. Anyway, you hit it right on the money. I was worried about that.”, Ladybug said.

“Well then, it’s good that your genius kitty companion already came up with a plan.”, Chat Noir said.

“If it involves Cataclysm, you can forget it.”, Ladybug said at once.

“No it doesn’t. You know how our friends have been trying to get us alone together for ages?”, Chat Noir asked.

Ladybug flushed.

“Yes? Wait, you’ve noticed that all this time?”, she asked.

“Not exactly, but I had a good long think about all our previous interactions and came to more than a few realisations, one of which was that I’m oblivious as fuck.”, Chat Noir replied.

“True.”, Ladybug said without hesitation.

“Oi, watch it! But I factored that into a little plan. During the court session, Adrien might suddenly feel ill and need to step outside. If someone could accompany him…….”, Chat Noir trailed off.

“.......... Alya will push me to do it, we can slip out, transform, come back in and testify and then leave and switch back. Now that is clever.”, Ladybug said, impressed.

“There’s more to me than cat puns and wisecracks, milady.”, Chat Noir replied.

Ladybug chuckled. Now that she knew Chat Noir’s identity and he knew hers, their interactions had become much more friendly and personable rather than strictly business. And though she could sense their feelings were growing stronger, she still couldn’t give in to the temptation to date him. As long as Hawk Moth was around, it was just too risky in case their identities were somehow exposed. And Bunnyx had warned her of dire consequences as well, and she was not inclined to disbelieve the word of the time-travelling heroine. But it still hurt. She might be a superhero with the power to capture evil-enhanced butterflies and unleash magical ladybugs that restored the damages caused, but she was also a human teenager who could be among the most selfish creatures on the planet and found that part immensely difficult to repress, even if it ashamed her. Stealing Adrien’s phone, trying to sabotage his time with Kagami at the movie theater, those hadn’t been noble or kind. Chat Noir was saying something but she didn’t quite hear it.

“Hm? What was that?”, she asked.

“I was just talking about the new statue they’re supposed to be unveiling in our honour. I said we wouldn’t be able to make it, but to tell Theo that we appreciated his work.”, Chat Noir replied.

“Theo?”, Ladybug asked, confused.

“Theo Barbot, the sculptor? He was Copycat.”, Chat Noir said.

“Oh, right. Yes, I remember him now. An interesting akuma.”, Ladybug replied.

To her confusion, Chat Noir looked suddenly guilty.

“What’s wrong, kitty?”, she asked.

“I actually have something to tell you in that regard. You know how I said Theo was akumatised because he was in love with you?” Chat Noir said.

“Yes.”, Ladybug replied.

“Well, that wasn’t entirely true. It was my fault he got akumatised.”, Chat Noir replied.

Ladybug blinked. What?

“When you didn’t show up to that statue unveiling, Theo said he was disappointed since he liked you very much. I got jealous and told him that we were already in a relationship, which made him jealous and the rest is history.”, Chat Noir said.

The boy flinched as he braced himself for the scolding.

“So you didn’t tell me it was your fault and let me think it was mine?”, Ladybug asked, looking quite cross.

“Yes. It was stupid and selfish of me, as well as jealous and possessive and not very mature. I’m sorry.”, Chat Noir replied.

Ladybug opened her mouth to scold him, but then a curious expression skated across her face.

“Wait, that was the day your phone went missing, wasn’t it?”, she asked.

“Yes, I- wait, how do you know about that? I only told Nino.”, Char Noir replied.

Now it was Ladybug’s turn to look guilty.

“I know about it because…….. I was the one who took it.”, she said.

“What?”, Chat Noir asked incredulously.

“I accidentally sent you this really embarrassing message asking you out to the cinema and I was terrified of you hearing it and thinking I was weird, so I grabbed it out of your locker when you were at fencing and……. yeah, it was a stupid thing to do.”, Ladybug replied.

Chat Noir looked very strange, both angry and something else at the same time.

“So, basically we could have avoided a big mess if we hadn’t been stupid and selfish teenagers?”, he summed up.

“Um, basically yeah.”, Ladybug replied.

Both of them were silent, angry and offended but also beginning to see the funny side.

“I should be angry with you about Theo, but I can hardly talk considering I stole your phone and messed around with it.”, Ladybug said.

“And I should be angry with you about that, but the other point still stands.”, Chat Noir replied.

“So, how do we go about this?”, Ladybug asked.

“Um, bad Ladybug, bad Chat Noir, don’t do it again?”, Chat Noir suggested.

“Sounds fair.”, Ladybug replied.

“OK, then. Bad Ladybug.”, Chat Noir said.

“Bad Chat Noir.”, Ladybug said.

“Don’t do it again!”

“Don’t do it again!”

The laughter that ensued lasted for several minutes before Chat Noir recovered.

“So, just out of curiosity, what was in that message?”, he asked.

To which Ladybug pursed her lips and said she would never tell. But that was all right, because Bunnyx suddenly popped her head out of her expansive time-travelling burrow and offered to tell him.

“Alix! If you dare tell him one word, I’ll take away your fire axe!”

Don’t worry, folks. She got it back in the end.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So Ms. Mendeleiev is their new form teacher and Marc has joined Ms. Bustier's class to replace Lila, whose trial will take place next chapter.
> 
> Signora Rossi is not blamed by anyone rational or who knows Lila well, since she fooled them all so effortlessly at the start as well, but she still feels responsible.
> 
> I thought it important for the two heroes to bring up the less savoury aspects of each other, the phone thing and Copycat. Whilst it did hurt and anger them both, it was necessary to ensure a completely honest working relationship between the two and demonstrates a sign of their maturity.
> 
> The fire axe gag continues to show itself. I honestly had not intended for it to become a running gag, but TV Tropes influenced me to install one since the first time got some laughs.
> 
> Finally, the inclusion of the Albert Londres prize. That is France's highest journalism award and whilst it might be a little far-fetched to use it here, the breaking of Lila's story as a willing accomplice of the infamous Hawk Moth would certainly be the breaking story of the year.


	17. Chapter Seventeen

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Lila goes on trial. Let's see her wriggle her way out of this.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Should state from the beginning that I have no idea how the French legal system works here and basically cobbled together a lot of legal mumbo-jumbo to create a court scene. 
> 
> This is a nice and long chapter. I've been somewhat laid up by what appears to be this blasted coronavirus and much of my energy has been sapped, hence the delay in posting this one.

The courtroom was large, grand, ancient, imposing and slightly intimidating. The members of the class sidled nervously into their seats in the front row, accompanied by Ms. Mendeleiev. The other rows were already filled with high-profile journalists, including Nadja Chamack, politicians and members of the judicial department, and the room was dotted with armed police officers; clearly they were taking this seriously. The judge was already seated, a thin and formidable looking woman in her forties whose sharp eyes reminded Marinette vividly of a hawk or an eagle’s. 

“She looks scary.”, she whispered to Alya.

“She is. That’s Claudine Fournier. She’s one of the highest-ranking judges in the country.”, Alya whispered back.

“Whoa. They aren’t messing around here.”, Marinette said.

“Course not, girl. Lila’s being tried for terrorism. That’s serious business.”, Alya replied.

As she said this, the doors of the room opened and all heads turned to see Lila enter with an escort of four GIGN officers. The Italian girl was handcuffed and looked distinctly worse for wear, her usual clothes swapped for a nondescript grey tunic and trousers. The four officers flanking her, two in front and two behind, were solidly built so it was difficult to get a good look at her, but as she passed the front row she shot them a glare of absolute venom through the gap, followed by a wicked little smile as she sat down in the defendant’s chair. The class glared back at her and there was a notable shifting from Alix, whose axe had mysteriously gone missing a while back; her future self had popped by to tell her that the older version had annoyed Ladybug and her younger self was being punished for it, which Alix felt was hardly fair. 

“Why is she smiling like that?”, asked Nino.

“She still thinks she’s gonna get away with it, is my guess.”, Alya replied.

Nathaniel said something profane in Yiddish.

“Is she really that delusional? We’ve got enough evidence to drown her with.”, he said.

“I wonder if we can convince the judge to consider burning her at the stake.”, Juleka muttered.

Marinette winced as she felt her little purse shudder; one of Tikki’s past wielders had been Joan of Arc and the poor little kwami still had nightmares of what had happened to her.

“Maybe not that far, Juleka.”, she said.

“Hey, she upset Rose. Don’t tell me I can’t fantasise about punishing her.”, Juleka retorted.

Rose was still upset over losing Prince Ali’s friendship, but Juleka and the others had been a massive help. The blonde girl smiled sweetly at her girlfriend, then almost jumped out of her skin as the loud banging of a gavel sliced through the courtroom.

“All be seated and silent. Court is in session, the honourable Judge Claudine Fournier presiding.”, the bailiff said.

Judge Fournier glanced down her sheet of paper and adjusted her steel-rimmed spectacles.

“Thank you. The charges against one Lila Rossi, daughter of Italian senior diplomat Claudia Rossi, are as follows; attempted murder, terrorism, conspiracy to commit terrorism, association with known terrorist elements, involuntary manslaughter, falsification of contact details and medical records, sexual harassment, attempted blackmail, defamation of character, slander, invasion of privacy, mayhem and larceny.”, she reeled off.

She had a firm and authoritative voice, one which wasted not a single syllable and which inferred her as a woman who was not to be crossed. She placed the paper to one side and looked at Lila over the top of her glasses.

“As Ms. Rossi has declined to have a lawyer present, how do you plead?”, she asked.

Lila got to her feet, hitched her most simpering and sickly sweet demeanour onto her face and spoke.

“Not guilty, Your Honour. All of these charges are false slander levied against me by my classmates.”, she said.

There was an outbreak of muttering in the crowd, all of whom had seen the broadcast in some form by now, and the class glared at her with enough fury and anger to burn her to a crisp. The judge wasn’t moved or fooled, however.

“I’ll be the judge of that, Ms. Rossi.”, she said coldly.

Lila’s expression faltered for a second, fear and anger shooting across her face, before she sat down. The judge turned to a black man in a grey suit with a red tie.

“Prosecution, you may begin your opening arguments.”, she said.

“Thank you, Your Honour.”, he replied.

The prosecuting lawyer was a Haitian, Adewale Mbutu, and had been working in the field of law for thirty years. Traces of silver flecked his temples, giving him a very dignified look. He got to his feet and went to stand in front of the judge’s bench.

“The prosecution hereby alleges that the crimes committed by Ms. Rossi were numerous, self-serving and in many cases premeditated with malicious intent. What do you say to these charges, Ms. Rossi?”, he asked.

He had a deep and authoritative voice, firm but reassuring. Lila tried the same tactic.

“Not guilty, sir! These are all lies made up by awful people trying to ruin my life!”, she cried.

Mbutu was not just a career lawyer, but also a father and a grandfather. As such, he knew crocodile tears when he saw them and made no attempt to hide his disbelief nor his disapproval. Lila realised she wasn’t fooling him either and glared hatefully at the man, who merely responded by half-raising an eyebrow.

“Are they? Let us see, shall we?”, he said coldly.

He strode over to his briefcase and opened it, taking out a huge sheaf of papers that the class recognised as their own evidence, which had been handed over to the court for verification and use in the trial. He held them up.

“I hold here in my hand, a list. A list of evidence nearly a mile long that proves each and every word out of Ms. Rossi’s mouth is nothing but lies and falsehoods. Also present here within the court today are the remarkable young people who discovered, gathered and presented this evidence, whom I would like to call forward to give testimony.”, he said.

He looked at Judge Fournier, who nodded stiffly. Lila sat there and ground her teeth as Mbutu called the first witness, Alya Cesaire. Lila shot her a look of pure venom as she walked past her to the witness stand, but Alya did not respond with anything other than a disgruntled “hmph!”. She took her place in the witness stand.

“Before you speak, do you swear that the truth you are about to divulge is indeed the truth?”, she was asked.

“I do. I swear it by my boyfriend’s life and my blog’s existence.”, she replied.

Her classmates chuckled; she was serious. Nino leaned in worriedly towards Adrien.

“Uh, does that mean I’ll get shot if she lies?”, he asked.

“Maybe.”, Adrien replied.

“Oh. Great.”, Nino said sarcastically.

Mbutu went and stood directly between the witness stand and the defendant’s.

“Ms. Cesaire, which aspect of the evidence did you discover or gather?”, he asked.

“I was the one who gathered the first piece, as well as a few of the subsequent pieces.”, Alya replied.

“This piece of evidence being a video recording of Ms. Rossi pushing a wall on top of the heroine Ladybug, correct?”, Mbutu asked.

He held up a USB drive that he’d taken from his briefcase.

“That is correct, sir.”, Alya said.

Lila suddenly sprang to her feet.

“I object! That recording was taken without my knowledge or consent! Arrest her, not me!”, she shrieked.

Judge Fournier banged her gavel.

“Silence! You were not given permission to speak, Ms. Rossi. Objection overruled.”, she said.

“But she-”, Lila continued.

“I said, overruled.”, the judge snapped.

“But-”, Lila kept trying.

“Overruled! Now sit down and be quiet, Ms. Rossi.”, the judge ordered.

Lila did so very reluctantly.

“As I was saying, this video is genuine?”, Mbutu asked.

“Yes. I submitted it to the police to be checked for doctoring or faking and did the same with my classmate Max’s AI friend, who verified it as completely true.”, Alya said.

Markov took the opportunity to wave as best he could with his single appendage.

“I see. Then would you mind if I played this video?”, Mbutu asked.

“Not at all, sir. Go ahead.”, Alya told him politely.

The video was then shown, though Marinette and Adrien both winced as they watched it. There was an outbreak of furious muttering in the crowd, which was quelled by Judge Fournier’s icy glance.

“I see. So, you had no idea of Ms. Rossi’s intentions?”, Mbutu asked.

“None. I was filming the akuma battle for my Ladyblog and just so happened to catch what she did on video. Beforehand she had led me to believe, among quite a few other things, that she was Ladybug’s best friend. Seeing her trying to crush her with a wall was a total shock.”, Alya replied.  
Mbutu asked her a few more questions, then brought up the second video, the interview with Ladybug and Chat Noir. 

“That reminds me, do we know if the heroes themselves will be here to testify?”, Judge Fournier asked.

“I’m afraid not, Your Honour. I did say on the Ladyblog that it might help if they showed up, but they weren’t able to confirm it.”, Alya said.

“Ah, I see. Very well, proceed.”, Judge Fournier said.

Lila’s hands clenched into fists as she saw her hated foe on the screen. She’d been waiting all week for Hawk Moth to see sense and akumatise her, but there hadn’t been a peep from him. She refused to give up and admit defeat, however, and was determined to find a way out of this. She would find a way out of this, she was Lila Rossi. And then Paris would burn. All of it and every single person in it. So she sat there and ground her teeth and clenched her fists, imagining them wrapped around Ladybug’s neck. Nobody noticed Adrien and Marinette leave, whispering a hasty excuse that Adrien felt ill and needed some air. Sure enough, Alix, Rose, Juleka and Mylene practically pushed Marinette after him. When the interview ended, Mbutu turned back to Alya.

“So you can verify on behalf of the two heroes that Ms. Rossi did not have the previously claimed close relationship with Ladybug?”, he asked.

Before Alya could reply, the courtroom doors opened and Ladybug and Chat Noir strode in.

“She can, but perhaps it would be best if we said it. For maximum effect.”, Ladybug said.

Gasps and excited chatter rose as the two heroes strode up to the front of the room. Even Mbutu and the judge looked excited, as much as they could convey whilst still remaining professional.

“Ladybug. And Chat Noir as well. What a surprise. We were told you might not be here.”, Mbutu said.

“We weren’t going to come, but since there doesn’t seem to be any risk of an akuma at present we thought we might as well.”, Ladybug replied.

“Especially if it means ensuring justice is done.”, Chat Noir chimed in.

Lila glared at them hatefully, but the GIGN officers made a point of shifting their weapons so she sat still and didn’t move. Mbutu recovered himself and cleared his throat.

“So, you both are willing to testify?”, he asked.

“Yes.”, Ladybug replied.

“Miladies first.”, Chat Noir said.

Aly stepped down from the witness box, giving a respectful bow to Ladybug. She didn’t begrudge them for speaking over her; they stood the best chance of a conviction if it came directly from the heroes themselves and they had stated that they trusted her word. 

“So, Ladybug. According to the interview, you allege that Ms. Rossi is not your best friend?”, Mbutu asked.

“She is not. I barely knew her at all.”, Ladybug replied.

“Then why would she claim to be your best friend?”, Mbutu asked.

“She did it to gain popularity and attention, specifically with a boy called Adrien Agreste.”, Ladybug replied.

“I see. And how did you find out about this?”, Mbutu asked.

“I was checking the Ladyblog for any new content and found an interview with Lila in which she claimed to be my best friend. I was not impressed or happy with these untruths and sought her out to set the record straight.”, Ladybug said.

“For what purpose?”, Mbutu asked.

Mbutu’s questions may have seemed out of order or too probing, but he was making sure to remain impartial and fair and give Lila a chance to disprove the claims as was fair, even if she had nothing to disprove them. Ladybug smiled; she liked this man, he was honest and fair.

“Apart from the fact that it was untrue, it was also motivated by concern for her safety.”, Ladybug said.

Lila shot to her feet with a snarl of rage.

“Don’t even pretend that you care about me, Ladybug! Your false concern wasn’t necessary or welcome!”, she snarled.

The judge banged the gavel.

“Ms. Rossi, I have already told you to sit still and be quiet. Do not make me tell you again.”, she said.

Lila reluctantly acquiesced.

“You were saying, Ladybug?”, the judge said.

“Yes. I was concerned because by claiming to be my best friend, Lila could have put herself, her family and her friends in danger of being targeted by my enemies who might think that they could get to me through my supposed best friend. However, Ms. Rossi appeared not to see it that way because next thing we knew, we were being attacked by Volpina.”, Ladybug replied.

“Volpina. Would you care to elaborate on that?”, Mbutu asked.

“Certainly. Volpina was her first akumatised form, based off a past holder of the Fox Miraculous whom she claimed to be a descendant of and whose Miraculous she possessed.”, Ladybug replied.

“And this was untrue?”, Mbutu asked.

Ladybug glanced briefly over towards where Alya was sitting.

“Yes. I am the only one who holds and possesses the other Miraculouses, with the exception of the ones held by Hawk Moth and Mayura, unless I dispense them if needed.”, Ladybug said.

“And there was no chance you had given the Fox Miraculous to Ms. Rossi beforehand?”, Mbutu asked.

“None. The first time I handed it out was to Rena Rouge, who debuted after Volpina.”, Ladybug replied.

“I see. And so Ms. Rossi developed a grudge against you afterwards?”, Mbutu asked.

“It would seem so. I fought her twice more as an akuma, once more as Volpina and then as Chameleon, where she took on other people’s forms by kissing them.”, Ladybug replied.

“But the evidence mentioned that Ms. Rossi had been akumatised at least four times. You have listed only three.”, Mbutu said

“Three where myself and Chat Noir fought her directly. The fourth was a suspected akumatisation on Hero’s Day, where what appeared to be an akumatised version of myself killed Chat Noir with his own Cataclysm, which was later revealed as an illusion, one of Volpina’s known powers.”, Ladybug replied.

“I see. And where does this tie in to her working with Hawk Moth?”, Mbutu asked.

“I did not purify any akuma from Volpina that day and Ms. Rossi was normal the next day. Hawk Moth can revoke akumas if he wishes, so it led me to the conclusion that Ms. Rossi was akumatised on Hero’s Day and did not inform the authorities, which meant that she was most likely aware of her actions and did not regret them, making her a suspect.”, Ladybug replied.

“Hm. Very well. Do you have any other testimony to give?”, Mbutu asked.

“I think my partner, Chat Noir, should take over here.”, Ladybug replied.

Chat Noir took her place at the witness box, looking very composed and mature for once.

“Chat Noir. Do you agree with Ladybug’s testimony so far?”, Mbutu asked.

“I do, sir.”, Chat Noir replied.

“And what testimony can you provide in that regard?”, Mbutu asked.

“In regards to the akuma Oni-Chan, whose own akumatisation was caused by Ms. Rossi.”, Chat Noir replied.

“How was that so?”, Mbutu asked.

“Ms. Rossi sent a selfie of herself kissing Adrien Agreste on the cheek to every girl on her contact list, including Kagami Tsurugi who liked Adrien. The picture severely upset her enough to be akumatised and she went after Ms. Rossi, calling her a liar.”, Chat Noir said.

“I see. Explain how this went.”, Mbutu said.

“Of course. We came across Ms. Rossi being attacked by Oni-Chan and immediately jumped in to save her.”, Chat Noir replied.

“And why would you do this if you suspected her of working with Hawk Moth?”, Mbutu asked.

Chat Noir suddenly looked very stern.

“We’re heroes. It’s what we do.”, he said firmly.

There was some applause from the audience at that and Mbutu and Judge Fournier actually smiled.

“Very noble. But please, continue.”, Mbutu asked.

“Well, we ended up chasing or teleporting all over Paris as a result of Oni-Chan’s powers. When we eventually cornered her, Ms. Rossi claimed to be in immense pain and unable to run away, so I picked her up and took her to find medical attention. However, she was found to be completely uninjured and I realised it was a deliberate ploy to lure me away and leave Ladybug to face Oni-Chan on her own. Oni-Chan was trying to kill Ladybug by this point and I realised that Ms. Rossi hated Ladybug so much that she would see her killed by an akuma simply to settle her petty grudge.”, Chat Noir said.

More angry muttering and the judge banged her gavel. A scowl crossed Mbutu’s features briefly.

“I see. Is that all, Chat Noir?”, he asked.

“I believe so, Mr. Mbutu.”, Chat Noir replied.

“Very well. You may go, and thank you for coming.”, Mbutu said.

“It was our pleasure, sir.”, Ladybug replied.

Lila glared and hissed hatefully at the two superheroes as they left, both feeling satisfied with themselves. Moments later, Adrien and Marinette slipped back into the room and took their seats.

“Girl, where were you? You just missed Ladybug and Chat Noir!”, Alya said.

“Adrien wasn’t feeling well and everyone else suggested I accompany him for some fresh air.”, Marinette replied.

This seemed to satisfy Alya, who only looked mildly put-out at having missed this opportunity. Mbutu continued to call forth witnesses from the class, all of whom presented their testimony flawlessly despite Lila’s near-constant death glare. When Adrien was called, she tried to affect sympathy by crying and moaning about how her boyfriend had been tricked into turning against her. Adrien shot her a look of utmost loathing and contempt as he took his seat.

“So, Mr. Agreste, what was your relationship with Ms. Rossi?”, Mbutu asked.

“At first, we were strictly friends. However, she became quite insistent on spending more and more time with me and trying to turn our relationship into a more intimate one, which I was unaware of at first. Despite her very heavy hints, I admit to being a bit of an oblivious moron when it comes to things like that.”, Adrien replied.

This earned a few chuckles from the crowd.  
“I see. And how did Ms. Rossi hint at wanting a relationship change?”, Mbutu asked.

“She was very clingy, constantly finding excuses to stay very close to me or touch me in some way as well as spend as much time with me as possible.”, Adrien replied.

“And did this make you uncomfortable in any way?”, Mbutu asked.

“Yes, sir, it did.”, Adrien said.

“And why did you not say anything in this regard?”, Mbutu asked.

“As a model, I’m used to people touching me and the like. However, I did not realise how uncomfortable it was making me until later, when she did not stop despite my requests to do so.”, Adrien replied.

“Hm. And yet you willingly set up a modelling gig with the two of you for your father’s brand?”, Mbutu asked.

“That was for someone else’s sake. I knew she liked me and wanted to be a model, so I arranged a deal; she could model with me in exchange for leaving the other person alone. I thought it would work, but it didn’t.”, Adrien said.

“Please explain how.”, Mbutu said.

Adrien shifted nervously; here was revisiting previous trauma.

“Lila had caused one of my friends to be expelled from school, which was later reversed, and was still tormenting them in certain ways. When I found out about this, I confronted her and ordered her to stop doing it, or I would revoke the modelling gig and ask my father to keep her away from me. She….. didn’t take it well.”, Adrien said.

“Lies! Lies! You recorded me without my permission! I didn’t mean anything of what I said!”, Lila exploded.

“Ms. Rossi, if you speak out of turn one more time I shall find you guilty of contempt of court.”, Judge Fournier said in icy tones.

Mbutu turned back to Adrien.

“This recording is part of the evidence?”, he asked.

“Yes, sir. But I have it right here on my phone if you wish to hear it from the horse’s mouth, so to speak.”, Adrien replied.

He held his phone out towards the lawyer.

“Do you wish me to play it?”, Mbutu asked.

“You can, sir, but do you mind if I cover my ears? I know every word of it and would rather not hear it spoken again.”, Adrien requested.

Mbutu nodded after looking at the judge, and Adrien covered his ears as Mbutu played the recording. Lila’s graphic and evil threats of harrassment and rape echoed through the courtroom, eliciting gasps and exclamations of horror and outrage. Marinette actually had to force herself not to vault over the barrier and attack Lila. Even Mbutu’s stoic facade had cracked slightly as he handed Adrien’s phone back to him once the recording was over.

“I see. Why did you feel the need to record this, Mr. Agreste?”, he asked.

“My friends and I were gathering as much evidence as we could find to show what she was really like. I expected her to react in a hostile manner to me confronting her and wanted proof in case she did, but I confess that I did not expect……. that.”, Adrien replied.

“Hm. Very well.”, Mbutu said.

Adrien left the box and returned to his seat, Marinette patting his hand in a reassuring manner.

“Final witness call, Marinette Dupain-Cheng to the stand.”, Mbutu said.

“You can’t! She’s the ringleader! You can’t trust a single word out of her mouth!”, Lila shrieked.

“Ms. Rossi, this is your final warning. Be SILENT!”, Judge Fournier almost bellowed.

Marinette went to the stand, swore the oath and prepared herself for questioning.

“So, Ms. Dupain-Cheng. According to much of the evidence and testimony reviewed so far, you were a frequent target of Ms. Rossi’s animosity. Can you give a reason why?”, Mbutu asked.

“Yes, sir. Lila came to school and quickly established herself as a teller of tall tales that I suspected were fraudulent. When I confronted her about this, she turned nasty and threatened to ruin my life by turning all my friends against me, among other things.”, Marinette replied.

“An expulsion for assault and theft was noted on your permanent record before being excised. Does this have something to do with Ms. Rossi’s threats?”, Mbutu asked.

“Yes. She framed me for stealing test answers and a necklace that supposedly belonged to her grandmother, as well as pushing her down the stairs.”, Marinette replied.

“I see. And how was the expulsion reversed?”, Mbutu asked.

“Lila claimed to have misunderstood the situation and that she had a rare disease that forced her to lie compulsively without meaning to. She did this at the request of Adrien Agreste, who is my friend and who made a deal with her to make sure it was done. However, she evidently had no intention of keeping her word.”, Marinette said.

“Can you elaborate?”, Mbutu asked.

“She merely switched her tactics to indirectly targeting me. She would point out things about me in an unflattering way, pay backhanded compliments, sow seeds of discord and get me to say or do things that looked bullying or unpleasant out of context.”, Marinette replied.

“And all of this was intended to divide and destroy your friendships with other people?”, Mbutu asked.

“Yes. And, unfortunately, it was working. Many of my friends were believing her over me and thinking I was jealous of her or trying to drive her away. I want to state for the record, though, that I have completely forgiven them. Lila was very good at manipulation or twisting things to suit her version of events.”, Marinette replied.

“I see. Very noble of you, Ms. Dupain-Cheng.”, Mbutu said.

He asked her a few more questions before thanking her and asking her to return to her seat. Lila glared hatefully at her as she passed, of course, but she ignored it.  
“Is that all from the prosecution?”, Judge Fournier asked.

“It is, Your Honour.”, Mbutu replied.

“Very well. The defence may now present it’s case to the court.”, Judge Fournier said.

Lila got to her feet and shot a triumphant smile at the class. Adrien leaned in towards Marinette.

“I know I shouldn’t be saying this, but I really can’t wait to see how she tries to get out of this one.”, he said.

She giggled and slapped his arm reprovingly, but her smile indicated she wasn’t seriously disapproving. Judge Fournier looked at Lila expectantly.

“Well, Ms. Rossi?”, she asked.

Lila took a great shuddering breath and collapsed into sobs, looking and sounding so completely in distress that even the class wanted to comfort her for a brief moment. 

“None of these accusations are true! All of it is fabricated, cruel and awful fakes created by Marinette to bully me and wreck my life! All because she’s jealous of me!”, she sobbed.

Quite a few of the class snorted in disbelief and several jaws dropped; was she really trying this, in a courtroom with a mountain of evidence heaped against her? Was she that delusional? 

“I see. Do you have evidence that the testimony we have heard up to this point is indeed fake?”, Mbutu asked.

Lila sobbed harder, rocking back and forth.

“I told you! Marinette is jealous of me! She’s hated me ever since I arrived and tried to completely ruin my life because she wants Adrien all to herself!”, she sobbed.

“As may be, but where is your proof to refute that?”, Mbutu asked politely.

“The recording was faked! I would never, ever say such horrible things to Adrien!”, Lila cried.

“Faked? Exactly how would it be faked and why?”, Mbutu asked.

“It was faked by Marinette and Max to turn Adrien against me!”, Lila sobbed.

Adrien scoffed and Max made a choking sound, highly offended and furious that she would dare try and drag his name through the mud. Kim pulled his smaller boyfriend in close and growled at Lila like a dog. Mbutu remained polite as ever, but it was clear he was not impressed by the flimsy lies.

“And how would they fake it to mislead Mr. Agreste when he claimed that he himself recorded it on the day in question?”, he asked.

“They must have stolen his phone and planted that faked recording on it!”, Lila sobbed.

“Do you have proof of this?”, Mbutu asked.

“I just said that they must have done that! Why won’t you believe me?”, Lila sobbed.

Mbutu’s eyebrow twitched; he was growing very annoyed here. Judge Fouriner cleared her throat pointedly.

“Ms. Rossi. I am a judge, he is a lawyer and they are police officers. We require evidence, not just somebody’s word. Do you have such evidence in your possession?”, she asked.

As Lila did not, all she could do was glare hatefully at the judge. Mbutu cleared his own throat.

“Your Honour, I think the defence rests.”, he said.

“Thank you, Mr. Mbutu.”, Judge Fournier replied.

She took off her glasses and faced the courtroom at large.

“Based on the evidence I have been presented with on this day, I can only rule that the defendant, Ms. Lila Rossi, is a proven danger to the safety and security of Paris and it’s people, as well as a person capable of truly reprehensible behaviour and of questionable mental fitness. In light of these deliberations, I feel that the defendant Lila Rossi is to be found guilty of all charges, and hereby recommend a period of detention in a mental health institution for no less than ten years, in addition to a permanent ban on ever setting foot on French soil again.”, she said.

Lila seemed to go rigid in her seat.

“Furthermore, the sentence shall be carried out by the Italian government, who volunteered to do so in the event of a guilty verdict. Until the extradition team arrives to escort her back to Italy, Ms. Rossi is to be held within a private prison accommodation. Court adjourned.”, Judge Fournier said.

And with a bang of her gavel, that was it. Lila was like a stone statue as the four GIGN officers prepared to escort her out. As they began to walk up the row, however, she suddenly jerked into life and lashed out towards Marinette, whose friends immediately formed a protective cordon around her.

“You think you’ve won, Marinette? Well, don’t! These chains won’t hold me forever! I’ll find a way out of this and when I do, I will destroy everything you hold dear!”, she snarled.

Before Marinette could reply, Adrien was suddenly between her and Lila, towering over the Italian girl. She cowered; the look on his face was more terrible than anything she had ever seen before.

“Now you listen to me, Lila Rossi. You will leave this courtroom, you will leave Paris, you will leave France and you will certainly leave Marinette alone. Now and forever. And I assure you that if you dare to try and hurt her ever again, then there will be no place on this Earth where you can run that will be safe from me. Do you understand me? I will hunt you to the ends of the Earth like the dog you are, so I suggest you think very carefully about what you plan to do if ever they let you out of prison.”, he warned her in a deadly voice.

It was like a younger version of Gabriel Agreste at his most dangerous and for a moment, Lila was too cowed to speak. Then something flashed in her eyes.

“You like her, don’t you?”, she asked.

“Maybe.”, Adrien replied brusquely.

Lila began to thrash and struggle against the officers restraining her.

“No! NO! No, you’ve not won! This isn’t over! Adrien will be mine someday, Marinette! You hear me?! MINE!”, she screeched as she was dragged out.

But nobody was listening to Lila Rossi. Because nothing she said was true.

==================================================================

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Lila's inability to learn from or acknowledge her own mistakes means she keeps falling back on her old tricks even when they've been exposed as lies or bullshit, except crocodile tears and hysterics won't fly with a judge or a lawyer. 
> 
> The judge's name was inspired by a minor character of the same name from The Handmaid's Tale. In it, Claudine Fournier was the Canadian Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs and part of the delegation that met with Gilead Commander Fred Waterford and his wife Serena, who helped topple the democratic United States in favour of a totalitarian religious regime that reduced women to second-class citizens, among other things. Her presence in the delegation was probably meant as a subtle jab at Gilead's attitude towards women and she also showed no sympathy towards Serena's situation because Serena helped bring about the regime that reduced her to being second-class. Here, she is a very high-ranking judge who sees right through Lila's bullshit and doesn't show her any sympathy because Lila's actions means she deserves whatever punishment comes her way.
> 
> As for the lawyer, I picked Adewale for the character from Assassin's Creed and Mbutu because I've always loved that name. Miraculous Ladybug shows Paris to be quite a diverse place without being too in-your-face about it, so he fitted in quite well.


	18. chapter Eighteen

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Lila is flown out of France to begin her prison sentence in Italy. Good riddance to bad rubbish.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A short chapter, my friends, after the previous long one. I have two others planned, one of which will serve as an epilogue, for we are reaching the end of our tale.

At Charles de Gaulle airport, several members of the Italian government stood on the tarmac with Mayor Bourgeois and Signora Rossi as they awaited the arrival of Lila’s prison convoy. The lead official, a plump and jolly man called Rocco Colosanto, was engaged in conversation with the two.

“On behalf of the people of Italy, I must apologise for the actions of this girl.”, Rocco was saying.

“I thank you, Mr. Colosanto, but we do not blame you.”, Mayor Bourgeois replied politely.

“I am relieved to hear that, and shall relay that to my superiors in Roma. I confess that this entire situation has caused much panic and distress back home. One of our own citizens, and the daughter of our senior ambassador at that, aiding a terrorist in attacking the French capital? Wars have been started for less!”, Colosanto said, wringing his hands.

Mayor Bourgeois glanced at Signora Rossi and saw she was looking quite guilty, but also resolved. She was going to accompany the delegation back to Italy before returning to France, possibly as one final attempt to reach out to her daughter and convince her this was for her own good. Colosanto seemed to realise his error.

“Oh, mi dispiace! I’m sorry, I was being inconsiderate! Forgive me, Signora!”, he said.

“It’s fine, Signore Colosanto. I know myself exactly what kind of political disaster could have ensued as a result of my daughter’s selfish and reprehensible actions. I’m just hoping this sentence will trigger some form of remorse or realisation within her.”, Signora Rossi replied.

Mayor Bourgeois privately doubted it; the girl was poisonous, selfish and cruel, and completely incapable of acknowledging her own flaws or faults. She would spend her entire sentence blaming others for it and planning revenge on them. One of the police officers touched a hand to his earpiece.

“The convoy has just arrived. They’ll be pulling onto the tarmac momentarily.”, he said.

Sure enough, a convoy of black-painted vehicles pulled up moments later. Four cars, two of them prison vans. GIGN officers disembarked from the first van and surrounded the second one, which presumably held the prisoner in question. Much to the surprise of the delegation, however, the lead car disgorged Ladybug and Chat Noir, causing a murmur of excitement from the Italians.

“Ladybug and Chat Noir? This is a surprise.”, Mayor Bourgeois said.

“We thought you might appreciate the extra security, just in case Hawk Moth reconsiders akumatising her on the eve of her extradition.”, Ladybug replied.

The person in question, heavily handcuffed and restrained, looked very angry to see the superheroes. Then she noticed her mother and her face twisted into a sneer. 

“What are you doing here?”, she asked.

“Accompanying you. As your mother, I want to ensure your safety and comfort during the trip.”, Signora Rossi replied.

Lila smirked cruelly, which Ladybug recognised as her standard kick-the-dog expression.

“You must be mistaken. I don’t have a mother.”, she said.

Poor Signora Rossi looked like she’d just been punched in the stomach. Lila was aware of the expressions of pure disgust she was getting but she didn’t care; that woman deserved it for her disloyalty and betrayal. Chat Noir seemed especially furious.

“Get her out of my sight before I do something I’ll regret.”, he hissed at the officers.

They were all too happy to oblige, escorting Lila very firmly onto the plane. Ladybug patted Signora Rossi on the hand.

“I’m sorry, Signora. You did not deserve that.”, she said.

Signora Rossi schooled her features into an expression of hardened determination. 

“She can deny it all she likes, but I’m still her mother. And I’m going to make sure she knows that that won’t change. I’m done letting her pull my strings.”, Signora Rossi said.

And she stalked up the boarding stairs and into the plane. Rocco Colosanto and his fellow officials lingered, however, the plump man vibrating with nervous energy.

“Ms. Ladybug, it is an honour to meet you! And your partner, Chat Noir, as well.”, he said.

“It’s a pleasure, Mr…….?”, Ladybug asked, extending her hand.

“Rocco Colosanto. And these are my colleagues, Giovanni Topolino and Angelina Ceresa.”, he replied.

Giovanni was a tall man with silver hair, a weathered face and clever eyes, whilst Angelina was at least forty years his junior and quite pretty, but her eyes gleamed with a fierce intelligence that many had underestimated. Both shook hands with the heroes as well.

“Well, Mr. Colosanto, we appreciate you coming all this way on behalf of your government.”, Ladybug said.

“And please understand that we don’t think badly of Italy because of Lila. She gives you a bad name.”, Chat Noir chimed in.

“We are relieved to hear that. Italy and France have always enjoyed a close friendship in the wake of the Second World War and many at home were horrified to learn of what that Lila girl had been doing in Paris.”, Angelina said.

“The girl is like a venomous snake, although that is an insult to snakes. We shall be putting her away for a very long time, I can assure you.”, Giovanni said.

“Good to hear. We will rest easy tonight, knowing there’s one less threat to Paris running around.”, Ladybug replied.

The GIGN commander disembarked from the plane and walked over to them.

“The prisoner is secure aboard the plane. No disrespect meant, but she’s officially your problem now.”, he said.

“Excellent. Then let us depart.”, Giovanni said.

But his companions hesitated.

“Is something wrong?”, Ladybug asked.

“No, no. It’s just…… well, I hate to appear presumptuous, but your exploits are famous in Italia and I was wondering…… well, my daughter is a huge fan of yours and I would love it if I could get your autograph for her.”, Rocco said.

Ladybug looked very taken-aback.

“Well, I’m not sure…..”, she began.

But Chat Noir looked at her pleadingly.

“Oh, please, milady? Just this once?”, he begged.

He was giving her the pouty kitten eyes and her usual restraint cracked now that she knew it was Adrien under that mask.

“Oh, all right. But just this once.”, she said in a long-suffering manner.

“I’m sure you’ll say that next time.”, Chat Noir replied.

“Oh, go and play with a ball of string!”, Ladybug told him.  
Both then signed a few scraps of paper for the gratified Italians. Chat Noir even threw in a few selfies.

“Grazie, Ladybug and Chat Noir! Grazie!”, Rocco said.

And he actually hugged them hard enough to hurt, which was impressive considering the magical properties of their suits, before boarding the plane. Both superheroes stood and watched as it taxied, gathered speed and took off into the sky, taking Lila Rossi with it and out of their lives forever. Ladybug let out a relieved breath.

“Finally.”, she said.

“What was that, milady?”, Chat Noir asked.

“Just……. glad that she’s gone. She can’t hurt us anymore.”

Chat noir hesitated for a second, then reached out and took her hand in his.

“No. She can’t.”

They stood there for a little while longer, watching the sky, before heading back to Paris. Lila was gone. A shadow that once hung over their lives had been banished for good.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I don't enjoy hurting Signora Rossi, but she's necessary for cementing how loathsome Lila is. Lila sees her mother as someone who must remain absolutely loyal and subservient to her. Any deviation from that is a betrayal, and Lila thus regards her as no longer being her mother, which also has the added benefit (from her point of view) of hurting her for her supposed betrayal.
> 
> Having Ladybug and Chat Noir present for the extradition was necessary for the sake of peace of mind for themselves, as both heroes and civilians. This truly cements for them that Lila is out of their lives forever. And she will never be coming back. Lila still harbours delusions that she can get back on top, but where she's going she will learn her true value in the grand scheme of things. Which is to say, nothing.


	19. Chapter Nineteen

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> An aftermath, but not quite an epilogue.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Initially I had not intended on mentioning Lila after her extradition, but I decided to include a mention of her here with a hint to her ultimate fate.

Adrien stood up from laying the flowers on the grave. The earth was freshly dug and the flowers a bouquet of chrysanthemums, bright and vibrant orange, but soon the earth would dry up and the flowers would wilt. Adrien heard the crowd talking and departing behind him but he did not turn, his whole focus being on the gravestone in front of him and the words etched into it’s light grey surface in black.

“Emilie Agreste (nee Graham de Vanily)

Died. 2016, aged 39.

Rest in peace.”

Tears stung his eyes but he didn’t wipe them away, allowing them to fall down his cheeks. His frame trembled with grief and silent sobs, sadness for multiple reasons. The loss of his mother, once again; the truth about his father; the sudden twist his life had taken. He felt several people approach from behind, heard frenzied whispers and someone pushed forward, skidding to a halt behind him.

“Alya, pushing Marinette towards me isn’t nice.”, he said without turning round.

More whispering.

“Told you, dudette.”, Nino said.

“Does he have eyes in the back of his head or something?”, Alya asked.

He sensed Marinette shifting nervously behind him and decided to put her out of her misery.

“Marinette, you can talk to me if you like.”, he said.

He heard her gasp, agonise over whether or not to accept, then approach him.

“Adrien. I’m so sorry. For everything.”, she said.

The sheer sincerity and caring in her tone broke the dam and he suddenly stood up, whipped around and pulled her into a hug in one swift movement. Marinette yelped, but did not attempt to escape; two years and the knowledge of his identity had calmed her down from a panic attack every time she was near him. She wrapped her arms around him and whispered soothing words into his ear.

“Shh, shh, it’s all right. I’m here.”, she whispered.

“Don’t leave me. Please.”, he begged.

Marinette felt her heart almost break at this and she felt absolute fury at Gabriel Agreste for having inflicted all of this. Discovering Hawk Moth and Mayura’s true identities had almost destroyed Adrien, to say nothing of the reason why his father and stepmother-in-all-but-name had corrupted their Miraculous for evil purposes; seeing Emilie reposing in that glass coffin beneath the mansion had been a bitter pill to swallow for the boy who’d thought her dead for over four years. The final battle had involved the use of multiple akumas and amoks, as well as the deployment of every single Miraculous in the box to deal with and finally take down the villains. Marinette honestly didn’t remember most of it, time seeming to stop dead as she vaulted over Mayura to snatch Hawk Moth’s Miraculous whilst he was tied up by Queen Bee’s spinning top at the same time as Chat Noir nabbed Mayura’s brooch as she was tripped up by MiniMouse’s jump rope. The look of complete horror on Chat Noir’s face as he saw who the villains were had been heartbreaking. Adrien had then endured a week of paparazzi and angry people hounding him every second of every day until Ladybug hijacked a news broadcast and threatened to unleash holy hell on them unless they left him alone. He was not responsible for the sins of his father. Adrien finally pulled away from her, sniffling and drying his eyes.

“Thanks. Guess I needed that.”, he said.

“No problem. I’m here for you, Adrien. We all are.”, Marinette replied.

Adrien smiled as he looked over her shoulder to see the class, all of them smiling encouragingly or sympathetically at him. All of them were wearing black, but his eyes were automatically drawn to the place where each wore their Miraculous; the Turtle on Nino’s wrist, the Fox around Alya’s neck, the Bee in Chloe’s hair, the Rabbit on Alix’s waist, Max’s new glasses for the Horse, Kim’s sport headband for the Monkey, Luka’s Snake bracelet and Kagami’s Dragon choker. Then there was the Rooster’s thumb ring worn by Nathaniel, the Goat’s hair clips in Marc’s hair, the Ox’s nose ring as worn by Ivan, the Mouse’s necklace around Mylene’s neck, the Dog’s collar around Sabrina’s neck, the Tiger’s panjas bracelet on Juleka’s left hand and the pearl ankle bracelet of the Pig as worn by Rose. All of them had been called on for the final battle and had answered the call magnificently. The Butterfly and Peacock Miraculous were safely back in the Miracle Box for a rest, particularly Nooroo; the poor little kwami of transmission had suffered greatly when Hawk Moth was his master. Duusu, as well, was quite inconsolable when she realised her powers were being used for evil and needed time to recover as well. Nino approached now as well.

“Come on, dude. We’d better get going or we’ll miss the wake.”, he said.

Tom and Sabine were catering the wake, which was taking place at the Grand Paris hotel; the bakery was too small to hold it and the mansion was out of the question, so Mayor Bourgeois had generously offered him the use of the ballroom for a few hours. Adrien smiled at his best friend and allowed himself to be led back towards the car park. His bodyguard, the good and loyal Gorilla who’d had absolutely no idea of his employer being Hawk Moth and who had practically intimidated the lawyers into declaring him Adrien’s legal guardian, was waiting by the car, his face sorrowful and caring. Marinette patted Adrien on the shoulder and went to join Alya and Nino in their car, but the Gorilla held out an arm and nodded his head meaningfully towards the interior of the car, which Adrien had just climbed into.

“Wait. You want me to ride with him?”, she asked.

The hulking man nodded, a soft smile on his face. Marinette blushed, but then smiled sweetly.

“Thanks for trusting me with him.”, she said.

And she climbed into the car, maintaining a respectable distance from Adrien but close enough that he could hug her if he wanted. He looked surprised to see her.

“Marinette? I thought you were riding with Nino and Alya?”, he remarked.

“Your bodyguard thought I should stay with you. And he’s rather intimidating.”, Marinette replied.

There was an amused huff from the big man as he got into the driver’s seat and started the car. As they drove through the Paris streets, Adrien sidled closer to Marinette and rested his head on her shoulder.

“Thanks, Marinette. I’m lucky to have a friend like you.”, he said.

“You’re welcome, Adrien. I’m here for you, now and always.”, Marinette replied.

The bodyguard watched them in his rear-view mirror and smiled; the two of them were so sweet together, and the girl made Adrien very happy, which meant he liked her. Adrien deserved some happiness after the train wreck that had been his life for the past few weeks. Gabriel Agreste being Hawk Moth…….. what a disaster! Even if it had all been for the sake of resurrecting his dead wife, the cost had been far too great. The man should have learned to accept what he’d lost and embraced what he still had, and now he had lost everything. The business, Gabriel, had almost completely folded with investors and employees jumping ship every day, people were threatening lawsuits against the Agreste name and death threats had been made towards Adrien. Adrien, whom the bodyguard had actually broken down his bedroom door when he found it locked and feared the boy was trying to take his own life behind it. Adrien, who now ate and talked sparingly so that he was like a phantom of his former self. Adrien, the boy whom he loved like his own son and would protect with his life. 

==================================================================

The wake was somewhat small, with few outside of the class actually attending. A lot of old family ‘friends’ had turned their cloaks with the reveal of Gabriel’s identity as Hawk Moth, extending tacit condolences but declining to attend the funeral or wake because it might adversely affect their reputations. Adrien had been angry to learn that, but also strangely gratified to learn that said so-called friends were very much a fair weather bunch. His aunt and cousin were there, hovering in the background. He recalled when they arrived, opening the door to find his Aunt Amelie and cousin Felix standing on the doorstep. Before either of them could get a word out, he’d thrown his father’s wedding ring into Felix’s face, asked if he was happy to have both damn rings now and then slammed the door in their faces. It might have seemed mean, but he remembered the last time they visited and all the trouble and heartache that was caused for the sake of stealing the wedding rings and was just supremely pissed off towards them. The ones who had attended the wake were counted as his true friends; Mr and Mrs. Dupain-Cheng, Nadja Chamack, Jagged Stone and Penny, with Fang in tow of course, Roger and Signora Rossi, both wearing matching promise rings, and everyone from the class, of course. He smiled fondly to see Luka and Kagami chatting amiably to each other; the awkwardness of seeing both his ex-girlfriend and ex-boyfriend getting together had long since faded and was now a source of humour between them. But his smile faded as he looked around at his classmates, all of whom had someone; Marc and Nathaniel were still going strong, Ivan and Mylene were inseparable as ever, Alya was showing Nino something on her phone, Juleka and Rose were giggling together over glasses of raspberry cordial and Max and Kim were arguing fondly with each other as they always did. Then there were the others; Sabrina was giggling with Jean Duparc, who was keeping her entertained with his magic tricks, Chloe was face-timing her boyfriend, a British fellow called Simon whom she’d been smitten with from the moment he came to stay at the hotel with his lordly parents, and Alix was arm-wrestling a surprisingly strong Francesca, a girl from one of the other classes. He was the only one of them who didn’t have a romantic partner, he reflected gloomily as he looked over the Paris skyline from the roof, having sneaked away from the wake to get some fresh air and time alone to think. He heard the lift ding behind him and the doors open to let a person out to stride across the roof towards him.

“We missed you downstairs.”, Marinette’s voice said.

“I needed some air. It’s been…… a long day.”, Adrien replied.

“I suppose so.”, Marinette replied.

She stood next to him, leaning on the balcony to watch the darkening sky. 

“I saw Luka and Kagami downstairs. I never expected them to hit it off so easily.”, she said cheerfully.

“Me either. And it was slightly awkward seeing two people I dated ending up together.”, Adrien replied.

“Oh, yeah. REALLY awkward.”, Marinette said with a giggle.

This motivated them to laugh a bit more, then more silence. 

“So…….”, Adrien said after a while.

“So.”, Marinette replied.

“What happens now?”, he asked.

“What do you mean?”, Marinette asked.

But before Adrien could reply, Plagg suddenly came zooming out of his suit.

“NO! No, no, no! I’m not enduring any more of this crap! Marinette, Hawk Moth is defeated so just date him! Please! For the love of sanity!”, the kwami said.

“Plagg!”, Tikki said, zooming out of Marinette’s pocket.

“Well, it’s true! We’ve been watching them dance around each other for years even though they’re perfect for each other! Now the only obstacle is gone!”, Plagg replied.

Taking a break from watching their kwamis argue, Adrien and Marinette turned their attention towards their hands, inches from each other on the balustrade.

“Plagg does make a good point. Hawk Moth is gone, Paris is safe, the Miraculous are back in the hands of good. I suppose there really isn’t anything standing in the way of us dating.”, Adrien said.

“I know. But I thought that considering Hawk Moth’s true identity, and everything that’s been happening since then, dating would be the furthest thing from your mind.”, Marinette replied.

“Well, you’re not wrong. As it still stands, I don’t really feel up to ice cream at Andre’s or a romantic stroll in the park. Sorry if that’s selfish.”, Adrien said.

Marinette stared at him; even with all the crap in his own life, he was still worried about upsetting her. She put her hand on his.

“It’s my turn to be patient, now. You don’t need a girlfriend right now. You need friends, friends who will stand by you no matter what and who will provide light in the darkest times.”, she said.

Adrien looked at her in a way she had only dreamed of and she felt her heart flutter like a hummingbird.

“I don’t know why I never realised you were Ladybug from the start. You might be less clumsy as her, but you have the same magnificence.”, he said.

She blushed to the roots of her hair, but smiled back at him.

“However long it takes, however long you need, I’ll be waiting. And I’ll be here.”, she said.

Adrien took her hand and put it to his mouth, gently kissing the back of it.

“Thank you.”, he said.

Darkness had long fallen before they went back downstairs.

==================================================================

Adrien took a deep breath as he got out of the car and looked up at the gloomy exterior of La Sante prison. One of three large and infamous prisons within Paris, it was where his father had been placed to serve his life sentence, in the VIP section of course. That made him smile slightly; even when he was in prison, his father still got treated specially. He heard Marinette get out of the car as well, walking to stand beside him.  
“Are you sure you’re ready for this?”, she asked.

“No. But I can’t ignore it anymore. I need to get a lot of things off my chest and a lot of baggage to throw at his feet.”, Adrien replied.

He’d not seen his father since Hawk Moth’s glamour had faded to reveal Gabriel Agreste, sequestering himself away and refusing to acknowledge or talk to him for quite some time. But he’d realised that in order to be truly free of him, he needed to face his father and talk to him, to lay bare every single frustration and annoyance and anger and to let Gabriel know just how much his actions had cost him, his son and all of Paris.

“You’ll be fine. It’s not like we’re visiting Lila.”, Marinette said in an attempt to lighten the mood.

Adrien managed a smile at that. They had kept tabs on Lila in their superhero identities, as the Italian government had been very accommodating in that regard. Apparently, Lila had begun using her old methods the moment she had arrived in the juvenile detention facility she was to be held in before being sent to the mental institution, probably in an attempt to cultivate allies for an escape and to get revenge. Before the week was out, she had reported to the infirmary with a shiv buried deep in her right shoulder, courtesy of an inmate called Gia. When asked why she did it, all Gia would say was.

“The bitch wouldn’t shut up.”

Upon getting out of the infirmary, Lila had quickly proven that she did not learn her lessons. Targeting Gia in the same manner as her previous victims, Lila set about trying to ruin the girl’s reputation and stir up the other girls against her. She confronted Gia and warned the girl that she had most unwisely declared war on Lila. She spent three weeks in the infirmary with a broken arm and Gia went on as normal. Whilst Lila recuperated, Gia visited her and told her sincerely that this was her last chance; if she didn’t take it, Gia would not show her mercy. Lila didn’t listen, and the moment she emerged from the infirmary she set about trying to get the other girls on her side. She stole Simonetta’s earrings, Juliana’s nail polish and Vivianna’s bracelet, put them all in Gia’s bunk and told all three girls she suspected Gia was the culprit. Much to her surprise, Lila found herself fleeing for her life as every single inmate chased after her. The guards managed to rescue her before fatal damage was inflicted, but the decision was made to transfer Lila to special solitary accommodation, for her own safety. Gia had anticipated what Lila would do and told all the other inmates that if any of their belongings went missing, to mention it around Lila and see if she said it was Gia. When Lila did just that, the inmates realised Gia had been telling the truth and turned on the manipulative witch. Lila was still in solitary confinement, as far as they knew, and unlikely to be released any time soon. She kept trying her old tactics, trying to manipulate and divide and mislead, without realising that it was only convincing the authorities to extend her sentence rather than reduce it. Adrien and Marinette no longer had any mercy or pity to spare for her; let her suffer her own fate.

“I suppose. I’m just glad you’re here, Marinette. I need to face him, but I’ll feel better knowing you’ve got my back.”, he said.

“We have to stick together. Right, kitty?”, she said.

“Right, Bugaboo.”, he replied.

Marinette was ordered to remain outside, as she was not family, but Adrien gripped the good luck charm she’d given him all those years ago and which he still carried with him. He waited only a few minutes before Gabriel arrived, handcuffed and clad in an orange jumpsuit that sat very ill at ease on him after the fine, fancy clothes he once wore. He still wore his glasses, but his hair was no longer immaculately styled and there were dark circles under his eyes. One officer remained in the room to ensure he stayed in line, but would remain unnoticed for Adrien’s sake. Gabriel spoke first.

“Adrien.”, he said simply.

“Father.”, Adrien replied.

“I was surprised to hear that you wanted to see me, after refusing to answer all my previous requests.”, Gabriel said.

“I decided it was necessary to see you, for the sake of my own peace of mind.”, Adrien replied.

“Adrien, I-”, Gabriel began.

Adrien held up a hand.

“First, I want to say what I have to say, whilst I still have the courage to say it. And you are going to sit there, be quiet and listen.”, he said coldly.

Gabriel looked furious and shocked, but the officer shifted pointedly and he said nothing. Adrien was the one with more right, here.

“I have already guessed why you did all that you did, the greater goal all your actions were in service towards. And some part of me understands, even sympathises. I miss Mother, miss her terribly, and I won’t deny that I wouldn’t give in to the temptation of using that ultimate power to bring her back as well. That, I can understand. But then there’s what you did.”

“You took the power of the Butterfly Miraculous, one which Ladybug has informed me was one of the most powerful and potentially dangerous Miraculous and which has been used to recruit allies and create additional heroes over the centuries, doing a lot of good. It took ordinary people and gave them powers to do good in the world, to bring hope and courage and faith to people. But you didn’t do that. Instead, you used it’s power to corrupt what it stood for, to home in on negative emotions and use that as a conduit to twist people into becoming dangerous, petty and destructive villains who inspired fear, trauma and suffering. You did this in service to the supposed greater good, but I don’t think you realised just how wrong you were.”, Adrien said.

He took a drink of water before continuing to speak.

“Ladybug brought me the Butterfly Miraculous so I could see it, and the kwami inside it. Nooroo informed me that each use of his Miraculous for evil purposes causes some form of backlash against it’s wielder. Rarely a physical one and often the effects are not immediately apparent, but each akuma you created caused a reaction, a punishment for misusing the Miraculous. Each attempt to regain what you’d lost only resulted in what you still had begin to gradually slip away. Nooroo tried to warn you of this, caring for you despite the abuse of him and his Miraculous, but you didn’t listen. And now, what you still had is more or less lost to you.”

“I’m still here, but now I know you were Hawk Moth, the man who inflicted so much suffering and fear upon Paris and I don’t know if I want to see you again or even regard you as my father, so you might stand to lose your son. Nathalie, I’m informed, might not pull through as a result of the damage to her health from using the broken Peacock Miraculous, so you might well lose a woman you care about and one who loved you and could have made you happy. The business, Gabriel, is on the verge of collapse so there goes the business you worked so hard to create. And Mother……… Mother was buried a few days ago. So you lost the chance to say goodbye to her then.”

Gabriel had gone completely white and seemed to want to speak, but Adrien pressed on before he could lose momentum.

“Now, I ask. Did you truly realise the consequences of misusing magic for your own personal gain, and what might ensue? Nooroo said that he warned you about the price of using the ultimate power, but I wonder if you realised it. In order to keep the universe in balance, any wish made with the ultimate power would have a price tag attached to it. To wake Mother up when she was merely in her coma would result in someone else being put into that coma in her place. You would steal the life of someone else to bring Mother back. Did you stop to think that maybe, Mother would be horrified to learn that she was healthy and happy at the expense of someone else? Especially regarding just whose expense it was?”, Adrien asked.

Gabriel made to speak but Adrien held up a hand once more.

“Wait. I’m not finished. Here is where I will ask.”, he said.

He took a deep breath.

“Nooroo told me that he thought you would finally give up when Mother’s coma became permanent, when…… when she died. But you didn’t. Instead, you became even more determined to get the ultimate power and disregarded his warnings that there was only one possible price that could be paid for new life. To bring Mother back to life, someone else would have to die.”, he said.

“So here is my question. Nooroo said that one possible interpretation of the price would be that, in order to restore the life of someone who meant so much to you, a life of equal value would be taken in return. So I ask; did you continue trying to get the ultimate power even after you found out that using it could kill me?”, Adrien asked.

Gabriel did not reply, which told Adrien everything he needed to know. Tears pricked at his eyes and he felt the sheer grief and anger threaten to cripple him for a second before he composed himself. 

“I see. Well then, I suppose there’s nothing more to talk about.”, he said.

And he stood up to leave, which seemed to shock Gabriel into action.

“Adrien, wait! Everything I did, no matter how awful, was because I missed your mother so much! All of it was to ensure we could be a family again!”, he cried.

Adrien stopped, his back to his father, but didn’t turn around.

“We could have been a family. Just you and me, and maybe Nathalie if you’d just accepted what you’d lost and appreciated what you had. You could have been happy again, we could have been happy again. But you made your choice, and paid the price.”, Adrien said.

“Son. Please……..”, Gabriel begged, and that hurt even more because Gabriel Agreste never begged.

“No. Not right now. In time, I might be able to forgive you, to come back and see you. But now, I just can’t. Goodbye…….. Gabriel.”, Adrien replied.

And he left the room, barely conscious of anyone or anything around him until he reached Marinette. She didn’t speak but merely took him in her arms and hugged him, letting him pour out all of his emotions while she held him to make sure he didn’t fly apart from it all. After what felt like hours, Adrien was able to talk.

“He knew. He knew that using the ultimate power could kill me, but he kept on trying to get it.”, he said in a voice that was barely above a whisper.

Marinette had nothing to say; what words could possibly sum it up, after all?

“I'm so sorry, kitty.”, she said finally.

She looked at the boy in front of her, the boy she’d been crushing on for so very long and who was sweet and good and kind and deserved none of the crap he’d had to put up with, and she came to a decision. She seized his hand and dragged him out of the building, towards the car where the Gorilla was waiting.

“Come on.”, she said firmly.

“Where are we going?”, Adrien asked, confused.

“My home.”, Marinette replied.

The Gorilla had been to the Dupain-Cheng bakery enough times to know what she meant and drove them there in quick succession. Marinette told the hulking man to return later in the evening, passing him a custom-made Ladybug doll as insurance, before taking Adrien inside. Tom and Sabine were in the middle of baking the final batches of the day and looked up in surprise to see Adrien come in with their daughter.

“Marinette. What is it? Is something wrong?”, Tom asked.

“Adrien went to see his…… father, earlier today.”, Marinette replied.

Both parents switched to expressions of grim understanding.

“I see. I’m very sorry, Adrien.”, Sabine said.

“You don’t need to be sorry, Mrs. Dupain-Cheng. He was……. just a horrible father.”, Adrien replied.

Hearing him so downtrodden, so sad, was the last straw for Sabine. She grabbed Adrien’s arm and began to drag him upstairs.

“Right, that’s it. Tom, you and Marinette can look after the shop. No child will be sad in here without me doing something about it!”, she said.

Adrien looked at Marinette, slightly frightened, but she was smiling.

“Off you go.”, she said.

As Adrien was pulled out of sight, Tom leaned in towards his daughter.

“Did you drag him here so your mother could coddle him?”, he asked.

“Yep. He deserves to know what real parents are like, for once.”, Marinette replied.

And Adrien did. For one whole, magical, wonderful evening he was part of the loving chaos that was the Dupain-Cheng family home. He helped to cook dinner with Sabine, learned how to bake bread with Tom, was utterly thrashed in a video game match with them and Marinette and just generally had the time of his life. He was able to shout, to scream, to mess up his hair and get sweaty and out of breath as he was pummeled with pillows, to cut loose and enjoy himself. He had so much fun that when it was time for his bodyguard to pick him up, he looked so much like a “kicked puppy” that Tom and Sabine had to restrain themselves from keeping him. Marinette walked him downstairs, both of them grinning and giggling like crazy people. Right before the front door, Adrien stopped to talk to Marinette.

“Listen, um, I just wanted to say thanks. I can’t remember the last time I had that much fun.”, he said sincerely.

“Don’t mention it. I just wanted you to have something to laugh about today.”, Marinette replied.

Adrien heard a creak on the stairs and knew Tom and Sabine were probably eavesdropping.

“Tell your parents I really enjoyed myself tonight.”, he said.

“I will. And feel free to drop in any time. I think they might want to adopt you now, like a lost little kitten.”, Marinette giggled.

Adrien giggled as well, then leaned in and pecked her on the cheek.

“Thanks, Bugaboo.”, he whispered.

Marinette turned a fascinating shade of magenta and stammered helplessly, but was saved by the Gorilla’s car pulling up outside.

“My ride’s here.”, Adrien said.

“Good. I mean, not good! I mean…… oh, hell!”, Marinette squawked.

They stepped out into the cool evening air, the Gorilla already waiting with the door open.

“You know, before the reveal my father intended to have you work as a designer for his company. I’m sorry all of that is ruined.”, Adrien said.

“It’s not your fault, Adrien. And Gabriel is hardly the only company in the fashion industry.”, Marinette replied.

“Soon it won’t be in the fashion industry. As much as I hated the modelling, I’m sad to see the company go after so much work was put into it.”, Adrien said.

“Don’t give up hope. Something else might turn up.”, Marinette told him.

“Funny you should say that.”, said a voice.

Both teens almost jumped out of their skin. Standing on the corner was a tall, balding black man, dressed in grey trousers and a black jumper and with his eyes hidden behind a pair of black glasses even though darkness had fallen. The Gorilla growled and stepped protectively in front of Adrien and Marinette, but the man made no hostile moves.

“Relax, big guy. I just want to talk to Adrien.”, he said.

“What do you want, sir? If it’s another lawsuit or interview request…….”, Adrien began.

“Actually, I’m here on behalf of my employer, to extend an offer.”, the man replied.

And he held out a card towards the Gorilla, who took it gingerly as though expecting it to explode.

“An offer? Regarding what?”, Adrien asked.

“Trust me, just read the card.”, the man replied enigmatically.

Adrien took the card from the Gorilla, opened it and began to read. As he did so, his eyebrows shot upwards into his hairline and his jaw dropped.

“Oh……..”, he managed to croak.

The man smiled.

“She said you’d probably react like that. Do I take that as a yes?”, he asked.

Adrien looked hesitant, then his eyes zoomed over to a curious Marinette and he smiled.

“Definitely.”, he said.

==================================================================

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, poor Adrien endures more crap but with the help of his friends and new surrogate family, he begins to recover and build on a romantic relationship with Marinette. 
> 
> Lila will likely never be released unless she shows a sincere desire and ability to change. But she is incapable of doing so because it would mean acknowledging her own mistakes and failings, which do not exist in her mind. Also, her tactics got her what she deserved in juvenile detention when she was surrounded by people who were more likely to find her annoying than impressive and who were in there for usually violent or criminal reasons.
> 
> Sorry for not including a big and grand final battle, but I felt the emotional consequences of the aftermath fit more with the story. I'm a firm believer that abusing magic for selfish purposes always causes some form of backlash, and invented such details about the Butterfly Miraculous. I had a theory that there would be a fail-safe built into the Miraculouses to prevent them from being misused for too long without consequences, but Gabriel kept pushing on and lost everything he still had in trying to regain what he had lost. I also wanted Adrien to chew out his father, as show-Gabriel is implied to be aware of the cost of using the ultimate power but keeps going. I personally believe that the wish will take something of equal value from him in exchange for restoring Emilie, which is Adrien. He keeps trying even though he knows that the power could kill his son and will effectively kill someone else so his wife can live.
> 
> Everyone has their Miraculous at the funeral, but they will eventually be returned to Ladybug and go dormant once more. Details to come in the epilogue.
> 
> Next chapter will be the epilogue and introduce Adrien and Marinette's mysterious offer extender, as well as rounding off the story. Lila might be mentioned, she might not be. Either will serve as a fitting punishment.


	20. Epilogue

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> End of the line. The final curtain. Closing act. Coup de grace, and all that that implies.

Adrien Agreste sighed and rolled his eyes in exasperation as Marinette entered her fourth panic attack in less than half an hour.

“Breathe, Princess. Breathe.”, he said.

“Oh, Adrien! What if no one likes it? What if people hate it so much that they go insane, claw their eyes out and the hall bursts into flames?”, Marinette said hysterically.

Adrien laughed; her magnificent imagination could really work against her sometimes. He took her by the arm and pulled her in for a hug.

“Marinette. We’ve been over this three times already. Everything is fine. It will be fine. And I’m here with you.”, he said.

She looked at him with love and adoration and he kissed her. His wonderful girlfriend of two years, now, and hopefully to be more soon enough.

“You always know how to curb my more outlandish fantasies.”, she said.

“One of my many talents, Bugaboo.”, Adrien replied.

Marinette’s smile faded slightly and one hand went by reflex to her earrings, which were no longer the simple black studs she’d always worn. With Hawk Moth defeated and the Order of the Guardians restored, the Miracle Box and all of the Miraculous had been returned to the Order’s Temple, after one of the monks showed up and asked for them back. However, he had noted that Wang Fu had left extensive notes as testimony and these, in conjunction with the videos on the Ladyblog and various news outlets, had convinced him and the other high-ranking guardians to consider Marinette and Adrien as default users of the Miraculous should it become necessary again. Saying goodbye to Tikki and Plagg had been hard, not simply because it meant an end to their hero days but also because the kwamis had become deeply attached to the two and vice versa. Both Adrien and Marinette had kept forgetting the kwamis were gone for the first week, a fresh surge of heartbreak each time they remembered. Even now, they still missed them. But that had to be put aside.

“Let me just have another look over everything. I want to make sure each costume is 100% right.”, Marinette said.

Adrien followed her into the room where the costumes, the debut designs of the evening, were waiting for the models on mannequins. Marinette’s debut line, Miraculous, was based off the costumes worn by the Miraculous holders. Each of them were gorgeously made and exquisitely detailed; a few even had accessories based on the Miraculous tools. Adrien personally could not see anything wrong with them, but Marinette was cursed with the affliction that pestered all artists; self-doubt. Perhaps she’s missed a thread, or it wasn’t quite the right shade. 

“Princess, they’re all fit for a king. Or a queen.”, Adrien said.

He walked over to one of the more stunning ones, based off the Black Cat Miraculous.

“You know, I still think this one would look cooler with a cape.”, he said.

Next second he swore under his breath as something small and hard collided with his head.

“No capes! How many coffee cups do I have to throw at you before it sinks in, dahling?”, barked a loud and oddly-accented voice.

Marinette’s boss, and Adrien’s as well since she was the one who bought his company, had entered the room without them noticing, which was impressive. Edna Mode might be only four feet tall, but she made up for it with her larger-than-life personality and could dominate an entire room of people several times her size with inimitable ease. Half-German and half-Japanese, Edna was efficiency, talent, charisma, intelligence and inspiration crammed into one small package. A noted business rival of Gabriel Agreste’s, she had decided to swoop in and seize his failing business and add it to her own. When Adrien had asked her why she had waited for weeks rather than swoop in immediately, Edna had told him that she had been waiting for the winnowing of the disloyal; only those who stuck to it even as it began to collapse around them were worthy of working for her. As for Marinette, she had immediately been put to work as Edna’s assistant and understudy, so that “the natural talent you possess can be cultivated like a beautiful orchid by a master horticulturist, not squandered as a collectible behind a sheet of glass”, in Edna’s own words. For some reason that she refused to divulge (to Adrien, anyway), she was extremely insistent on not adding capes to any designs. Marinette had asked her once and the diminutive woman had told her only that she reminded her of another young hero whose career was brutally cut short by a cape malfunction.

“But you should listen to the young man, dahling. Each design is perfect. I can find nothing wrong with them and that has never happened before.”, Edna said.

“But some of the harshest fashion critics in the world will be here tonight. What if they don’t like them? What if the public doesn’t like them?”, Marinette fussed.

“Dahling, you work for me. What they think doesn’t matter.”, Edna replied.

She cut a very odd and very short figure, wearing a smart and simple black dress and enormous round glasses, but she favoured the simple and tasteful when it came to what she wore herself. 

“Now, I have managed to painstakingly track down and extend invitations to all of your school friends. I told them only that it was your debut as a designer, nothing more.”, Edna said.

As she said this, her security man popped his head around the door.

“Ms. Mode, your specially invited guests have arrived.”, he said.

“Yes, yes. Good, good, good. Now go and check the perimeter or something. Come along, Adrien, we shall go and greet them. Marinette, dahling, you must get yourself ready for the premiere.”, Edna said.

And she seized Adrien’s sleeve and pulled him out of the room, surprisingly strong for such a small woman.

“Hey, I need to get ready as well!”, he protested.

“Yes, yes, yes, but she is the star of the show and requires more work. You, throw on a suit, some make-up and a hat and bippity-boppity-boo, you’re ready!”, Edna replied.

Adrien smiled; she wasn’t wrong, and it would be very nice to see Nino and the rest of the old crowd once again. The demands of life and their careers had pulled them all apart in different directions, but for this evening all of Team Miraculous would be reunited once again. Edna led him into the spacious atrium of the venue, where his former classmates were all gathered, looking excited and apprehensive. Nino saw him first.

“DUDE!”, he cried, breaking away and running over.

Adrien hugged his friend, noting how much stronger and bigger Nino had become. The now very successful DJ and aspiring producer had taken up weightlifting as a hobby and was now quite bulky, certainly more so than he was when they were at school. He had been keeping tabs on everyone and knew they were all doing very well in their respective careers; Alya was now a journalist and part-time anchor, known as the Queen of Quotes because she was voracious in verifying sources for authenticity; Alix was a professional skater; Kim had aspirations to swim at the Olympics for France; Max specialised in video game design and was a leading mind in several scientific fields; Nathaniel and Marc still did comics, with Nath also taking in commissions on the side; Sabrina was practicing law; Ivan was a successful drummer and Mylene a skilled voice actress; Chloe was a socialite; Rose was primary fundraiser for many charitable causes, working with Prince Ali once more after he realised his PR people overreacted and thar it wasn't Rose's fault that she'd been misled by Lila; Juleka was a music teacher; Kagami was now an Olympic-class fencer; and Luka was a partner with Jagged Stone on his tours. All of them looked quite apprehensively at Edna, who merely grinned (which Adrien knew from long experience was not tailored to put people at ease but hinted at the mad genius beneath).

“Welcome, dahlings, welcome! Tonight, you will have the glorious privilege of witnessing the extraordinary Marinette’s masterpieces in action!”, she said, vibrating with excitement.

“Ooooh, can’t wait! I’m helping to cover it for my network.”, Alya replied.

“Yes, the reveal of the century! I hope that is your headline.”, Edna said.

“Well, yes, I suppose it’s a good one…..”, Alya said.

“Of course it is, dahling! I came up with it!”, Edna replied.

Alya was looking very out of her element, dealing with this diminutive yet fiery woman. Nino was impressed with Edna at once; very few could stand up to Alya, much less dominate her.

“You know, it didn’t say just what the designs will be or what they’ll look like.”, Alix said.

“Yes, because words are useless! Gobble-gobble-gobble-gobble, too much of it, dahling, too much! That is why we as designers show you our work, and that is why you are here!”, Edna said.

She was pointing her cigarette holder at Alix like a sword and the tough tomboy was actually looking uncertainly at it, going almost cross-eyed trying to keep it in view. The quieter ones, Nathaniel, Marc and Juleka, were wisely keeping their heads down, but Chloe tossed her hair back with a huff.

“I hope it’s worth the trip. I turned down a dinner party with the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge for this.”, she said.

Next second Edna was practically in her face.

“Pah! You turned them down? There was no choice between this or a stuffy dinner party! Silly, conceited girl!”, she snapped.

“How dare you! Do you know who I am?”, Chloe said, puffing up in outrage.

“No, but I know your type. I have worked with them for over thirty years. But you clearly do not know who I am!”, Edna retorted.

“I know you’re Edna Mode. I’ve worn some of your stuff before, but my mother says you’re way too overrated.”, Chloe huffed disdainfully.

Adrien gasped and hid himself behind Nino and Alya; oh no, what had she done?

“Overrated?! Hah! I was designing and critiquing when Audrey Bourgeois was about to buy her first Chanel suit! Queen of Fashion? Feh! She is barely even a lady-in-waiting!”, Edna burst out.

Chloe turned a phenomenal shade of puce as she furiously dialled her phone.

“How dare you say that, you little gremlin! I’m going to call Mother and tell her just what you said! She’ll show you!”, Chloe stormed furiously

“Go right ahead, dahling.”, Edna said with a grin.

Chloe’s phone connected to Audrey’s and she began complaining about what Edna had been saying about her.

“What? Who dares to say those things about me? Tell me who it is, Claudette- I mean Chloe! I’ll have them fired!”, Audrey’s demanding and rude voice said.

“DAHLING! It has been such a long time since we last spoke, hasn’t it?”, Edna shouted in the direction of the phone.

Audrey’s latest fired personal assistant would later claim that the look of utter shock and fear that crossed Audrey Bourgeois’ face as she heard that voice was something she would not soon forget. 

“Edna? Is that you?”, Audrey’s voice stammered across the speakerphone.

“Of course, dahling. Your daughter was just telling me about some of the delightful compliments you’ve been paying me in the past.”

Audrey swallowed audibly; Edna Mode was one of the very few people able to intimidate her and if Chloe had opened her big mouth regarding some of the less than favourable things Audrey had said about her in the past……….

“O-Of course. I was just surprised to hear from you. I thought you’d retired from the fashion industry.”, she said hopefully.

“It was only temporary, dahling. The collapse of Gabriel necessitated a stepping back into the ring, so to speak.”, Edna replied cheerfully.

“Oh, yes. Unfortunate business, that. But I guess Gabriel was not as exceptional as I thought if he got caught.”, Audrey said.

Adrien gritted his teeth; not a very nice thing to say.

“Well, anyway, I would love to chat more but I’m a very busy woman, Edna. But do look me up if you’re ever in New York.”, Audrey said.

“Of course, dahling. I shall be coming there soon, to promote my company’s new line.”, Edna replied.

“New line? What new line? Why have I not heard of this?”, Audrey demanded.

“It’s making it’s debut tonight at the Grand Palais, dahling. But I’m sure you’ll be able to watch it on the news.”, Edna said.

“The news?!”, Audrey blustered.

“Yes, dahling, the news. I must be going now, very busy, you understand.”, Edna said.

“But-”, Audrey said.

“I insist you watch it, OK? OK, goodbye!”, Edna called.

And she hung up Chloe’s phone, leaving everyone shocked and not a little frazzled by what had just happened. Chloe in particular was frozen, completely unable to comprehend the fact that her mother had just been beaten by a woman who barely came up to her waist. Edna clapped her hands and her security man appeared at her side.

“So, dahlings, please feel free to explore and enjoy my hospitality. However, I must insist that you leave Marinette alone until after the show. She must keep all her focus on the designs for tonight! Ta-ta for now!”, Edna said.

And then she was gone, leaving the shell-shocked group behind. Alya looked at Adrien, who was still hiding behind her and Nino.

“She’s…….. quite something.”, she said.

“You have no idea.”, Adrien replied.

The security man cleared his throat.

“Please take one of these VIP passes and keep them on at all times.”, he said.

All of them obliged, Chloe audibly grumbling that it would clash with her outfit. Adrien checked his watch.

“So, we’ve got a few hours before the show starts. Let’s find the buffet table and catch up.”, he said.

“Lead on, dude! I’m starving! And eager to catch up with my best bro!”, Nino replied enthusiastically.

==================================================================

Evening at the Grand Palais for the opening of the Mode fashion show was always star-studded and the centre of attention and tonight was no exception. There was great excitement buzzing in the air, as this was the debut of Edna Mode’s favourite new designer, not helped by the arrival of many stars including Jagged Stone and Clara Nightingale. Nadja Chamack was covering the event, naturally, announcing the arrival of celebrities and reeling off what was to be expected that evening.

“Everyone wants to know just who this mystery designer is!”, she said excitedly.

Inside, Marinette’s classmates were seated in the front row, all chatting excitedly amongst themselves. Adrien was talking to Max and Kim, both still happily together despite the demands of their respective careers. Some of the class, like Nino and Alya and Ivan and Mylene, were engaged but most of them weren’t bothering. Marc and Nathaniel had mentioned the possibility, but were happy enough as live-in partners.

“So, Max, do you have any new projects in mind? You know how much I loved your last game!”, Adrien was saying.

“I did have several ideas, including one that involves a certain lying girl who never shuts up and the many ways you can kill her.”, Max replied.

“OK…….”, Adrien said slowly.

“No, see, I've thought it all out. And by level four, you can just nuke her. I mean, nuke the HELL out of her!”, Max said, gesturing for good measure.

Out of all of them, Max had probably taken being fooled so easily by Lila the hardest after Alya. As the cleverest of the bunch, the fact that she’d managed to trick him so easily had been a severe blow to him and, evidently, he was still a bit hung up on it. Adrien leaned towards Kim.

“Does he have one of those dartboards with Lila’s picture on it?”, he asked.

“Yep. Me, Max and Alix take turns throwing that axe of hers at it.”, Kim replied cheerfully.

“Ah. Sounds like fun.”, Adrien said.

“It is. A lot of fun.”, Max said, a manic grin on his face.

Adrien subtly edged away from Max, feeling apprehensive all of a sudden.

“You know, I wonder what Lila’s doing right now.”, Kim said.

“I try not to think about her. It makes me feel the need to bathe.”, Adrien replied.

“Wonder if she’s watching the show right now. If she is, you and Marinette need to kiss on-screen. Her head will explode.”, Alya butted in.

“I was planning to kiss her, anyway.”, Adrien replied.

==================================================================

Lila Rossi, now a young woman in her twenties, sat in her solitary confinement cell and ground her teeth as she wrote out yet another plan for getting painful revenge on Marinette and everyone else who’d wronged her. Even after all these years, she still refused to learn her lesson and accept her own fault for her current situation. She cursed the authorities who refused to believe her changes were sincere, mostly because they knew she was a liar and were experts at reading criminals with mental disorders who thought they could fool everybody. Any sane person would have looked at this as a life lesson, to contemplate their mistakes and resolve to never make it again. But Lila merely saw her prison sentence as a setback to be overcome, an obstacle to her revenge against Marinette and so she continued to dig herself deeper by refusing to sincerely change and atone for her lies. Even her solitary confinement was her own fault, as she consistently attempted to manipulate her fellow inmates to her own benefit and turn them against each other, failing to realise that a lot of them were hep to her jive and did not appreciate being lied to, cheated or manipulated. Her accommodations were comfortable, though, and even came with a television. It was playing in the background, but she didn’t notice it. She did hear two of the guards approaching, bringing her her dinner, and heard them open the hatch in the bottom of the door and slide the tray through, chatting to each other.

“Did you see that thing on the news? The fashion show?”, one of them was saying.

Lila pricked up her ears. Fashion show?

“Yeah, Edna Mode’s. I heard it’ll include a reveal of the mysterious new designer.”, the other guard replied.

“What channel is it on? Channel six?”, the first guard asked.

“Yeah, think so.”, his partner replied.

Lila picked up the dinner tray and took it over to her desk, giving it a look of disdain; spaghetti and meatballs with a glass of water and piece of pie and custard. It was actually better than average prison food, but she hated it because it reminded her of her situation. She flicked the TV over to channel six and almost spat out her water as she caught sight of the Grand Palais in Paris. Paris? Why wasn’t it in Milan, or Rome? The catwalk was lit up and ready for the models to strut their stuff, but presently there was only one person on it, a very short woman wearing ridiculous glasses. Edna Mode, according to the flashing text on the screen. She raised her arms for silence.

“Welcome, dahlings, welcome! Tonight, I am delighted to present to you the debut line of my most talented young designer! A native of this lovely city and nearly as beloved as the former hero Ladybug, tonight is where her talent will shine through!”, Edna announced.

Lila scoffed at the mention of Ladybug; she was aware of the revelation of Hawk Moth’s true identity and the subsequent retirement of Ladybug and Chat Noir, but that was merely factored into her plans. She would simply find the Miraculouses herself, one of the more powerful ones instead of the rubbishy illusion powers of the Fox, and take them. With the combined power of all the Miraculouses, she would rule the world and exact vengeance upon Marinette, Adrien and all of Paris. How satisfying it would be to see the two of them in chains as her slaves as she made them watch their home city and everything they cared about burn in front of them. She was so consumed with this vicious fantasy that she nearly missed Edna’s next announcement.

“I could say so much more, dahlings, but you did not come here to hear me speak, wondrous at it though I am. No, you came to see fashion! And so, I present to you……. MIRACULOUS!”, Edna announced.

The audience erupted with cheers and flashing cameras as the curtains parted and the first models strutted out onto the catwalk. Lila glanced at them, feeling furiously jealous as she remembered being fired and blacklisted, another error she would correct in the future, and choked; the lead model, a pretty blonde, was wearing an outfit almost directly taken from that book she’d stolen from Adrien all those years ago. It was a gymsuit, something worn for exercise, and coloured a warm sunshine yellow with black stripes. A black-haired young male model followed wearing the male version, which was a bit more bulky but no less amazing, and had matching trainers that were black with yellow laces. Both of them did a full walk of the platform, to raucous applause, before leaving.

“The first of the line, dahlings, is based off the Bee superhero and is a comfortable but functional exercise suit, capable of being worn in all weathers and also for casual wear. Plus, very bold and eye-catching. Designed to be worn by those who love to be active and productive.”, Edna said.

Next up was a very rocker-type outfit in shades of black and teal, with a stylised serpent winding it’s way up the sleeves and legs. 

“Jagged Stone has already placed an exclusive order for two of this design. Fine leather with intricately stitched designs and repeating patterns, based off the Snake superhero.”, Edna said.

Up next came a design that was almost a dead ringer for Mayura, the Peacock Miraculous holder. Black high-heeled boots, dark blue trousers or tights and a long coat that flowed and flared out behind them with the characteristic eye pattern of a peacock. Both models even carried matching hand fans.

“If one wants to be eye-catching and flamboyant, what better inspiration than the peacock?”, Edna remarked.

Lila gritted her teeth and growled angrily as she saw more and more outfits, all of them exquisitely designed. The Rooster was a padded jacket with a collar of fake feathers, the Goat a white suit with the breast pocket, inner shirt and cuffs of the trousers and jacket being black. The Horse was a western theme, brown leather and a fedora, whilst the Monkey heralded back to an Asian theme of traditional Vietnamese garb. The Turtle was advertised as outdoors and mountaineering with a built-in backpack. The Fox (which made Lila shriek with anger) was a very casual outfit consisting of a white shirt and orange trousers which were also reversible, allowing one to switch the colours of the respective parts if so desired. The Ox was designed around the theme of weightlifting or wrestling. The Dog was a very cuddly and warm ensemble, like a onesie. The Tiger was quite Gothic, black and purple but artfully ripped and torn in places. The Rabbit was very reminiscent of Alice in Wonderland, blue and white with a matching umbrella. The Pig was a warm and friendly shade of pink and very casual teenagewear. The Mouse was a silver tracksuit with pink accents. The Dragon was a jumpsuit in red with gold and black accents. There was even one for the Butterfly, a suit and dress of deep purple. And then finally, the coup de grace.

“And now, dahlings, the crowning jewels of the collection! The Ladybug and the Black Cat!”, Edna announced.

Lila clenched her fists as she saw the costume of her hated foe. It was an amazing costume for Ladybug, designed along the lines of a Spanish flamenco costume. The two wearing the Ladybug outfits even did a bit of a tango dance at the end of the runway. The Black Cat was full-on black leather, sleek and shimmering in the lights, and very punk, with heavy steel-toed boots and silver buckles and clasps. The already hoarse crowd was spurred on to new heights of excitement and noise, so much so that even Edna struggled to get their attention back once the models had departed.

“Fantastic! Wonderful, aren’t they, dahlings? And now for the highlight of the evening, I reveal to you the brilliant and talented designer of Miraculous. Please give it up for MARINETTE DUPAIN-CHENG!”, Edna announced.

And then Lila froze as she saw Marinette step onto the stage, waving and smiling shyly and blushing bright red as legions of people cheered for her. Lila snarled as she watched the girl walk to stand beside Edna, who was a full head shorter than her and beaming like a proud mother…….. or a demented supervillain, depending on the angle. After the crowd had calmed down sufficiently, Marinette began to make a speech.

“Hi, everyone! I’m relieved to find that my worst fears about the evening did not come true, mostly involving the building exploding because people hated my designs.”, she said.

This was met with uproarious laughter, and Lila felt her temper rise as she listened to the girl’s sickeningly sweet and false humility. She might almost have believed it to be real.

“So, to sum up, this collection was inspired by the exploits of Team Miraculous and each outfit was designed to be practical but with plenty of room for exuberance. A few of them are a bit flashier and intended to be worn for fancy occasions, but most of them can be worn anywhere.”, Marinette continued.

“You see, dahlings? Compassionate and practical, and with NO CAPES!”, Edna belted out.

Lila was almost knocked over by the force of the tiny woman’s last statement, belting out of the television and almost overwhelming the audio speakers. 

“Yes, E, just as you repeatedly and insistently requested to a maniacal degree. But whist the sadly retired Team Miraculous were the inspiration for the designs, I must give credit to the ones who inspired me to keep going and not break down into a panicky mess.”, Marinette continued.

And at her prompting, the cameras panned over to show the entire class, looking like deer caught in headlights. Or, more specifically, the spotlights now shining on them.

“My friends, the Miracu-class!”, Marinette announced.

The audience began clapping, leaving the class stunned. A few, mostly Alya and Kim, preened at the adulation, but most merely waved and smiled sheepishly. Lila’s anger intensified at the sight of them, all on her list of revenge. After Marinette, she’d start with Alya, then Nino, then Max, Kim, Nathaniel and so on until each of them was utterly ruined and destitute. But Marinette was not done.

“But there was one in particular who gave me the strength to continue on, to not give up and to never let the black clouds of despair and doubt gather overhead. My wonderful sunshine boyfriend, Adrien Agreste!”, she said.

And Lila’s jaw dropped as she saw Adrien, looking terrified and touched at the same time, get pushed up onto the stage to stand beside Marinette, who wrapped an arm around his waist and laid her head on his shoulder. He smiled and kissed her, leading the audience to go completely wild. Lila could only sit there, paralysed with rage, shock and disbelief as she watched Adrien, who rightfully belonged to her, kiss Marinette and look at her with such love and adoration, what sounded like the entire world cheering them on. Then the world resolved itself and a scream of rage and denial erupted from her throat, at the same time as her hand smashed the plate of spaghetti into the TV screen, shattering it in an explosion of glass and sparks. She stood there breathing heavily, only barely acknowledging the sound of the guards opening a hatch in her cell door.

“See something you didn’t like?”, one of them asked cheekily.

She stormed over to the door.

“You tricked me!”, she shrieked.

“Tricked you? How did we do that?”, asked his partner.

“You made sure to mention that fashion show so I would watch it!”, Lila accused him.

“Maybe. We just mentioned it because we thought you might want something good to watch. Not our fault if you decided to switch it off with your dinner.”, the first guard said.

She growled angrily, then smirked as she realised how she could turn this to her advantage.

“You deliberately goaded me into doing that! I’ll tell the other guards, the warden, and you’ll be fired!”, she declared triumphantly.

To her irritation, however, neither guard looked angry or concerned. Instead, they both smiled.

“Oh, you could tell them that, miss. But who would believe a liar?”, the older of the two said.

Lila snarled at them.

“I’m not a liar! I was unfairly accused and wrongly imprisoned! I’m innocent!”, she protested.

“Oh, for God’s sake, are you still trying that? You really do lie with every breath.”, the younger guard said.

Seeing that this wouldn’t get her anywhere, Lila decided to change tactics and turned on the waterworks.

“Why would you torment me like this? A poor, innocent, defenceless girl?”, she sobbed.

But that seemed quite the wrong thing to do. Both guards suddenly looked murderous and Lila suddenly found herself grateful for the heavy and securely locked door between her and them.

“Don’t you dare try and present yourself as the victim here! Not when you’ve left so many other victims behind with that ruse!”, the younger one stormed.

The older one glared at her with such burning hatred that if looks could kill, she would surely have dropped dead on the spot. 

“Why are you tormenting me? What did I ever do to you?”, she asked.

“Nothing……… directly. But perhaps you are familiar with my son Luigi?”, the younger guard replied.

Luigi? Wait……… Luigi had been one of her classmates when she lived for a time in Volterra. He’d been a quiet and clever boy who’d nonetheless been quite well-liked. He’d been the only one of the class who’d not believed her and tried to call her out, which had resulted in her targeting him as an enemy. After six weeks of following him and steadily chipping away at his existing friendships, Lila had caught him kissing another boy and gleefully revealed this to the entire school, with a few rumours of grooming and seduction for good measure. Luigi had been made a complete social outcast and his family had sent him away after a time, with Lila not bothering to find out what happened to him further. 

“I-I don’t know what you mean. Never heard of him.”, she said.

“Oh really? Well, then let me educate you. After you forcibly outed him and spread those despicable rumours about him, his entire life was nearly ruined. Insulting messages, bricks through the windows, harassment and bullying at school. All of his friends deserted him, swarming instead to you, the deceitful, conniving little witch responsible for it and who then skipped town less than a month later, leaving everyone to pick up the pieces. The only reason I’m not considering committing police brutality is because Luigi is very happy now, living in Florence at his aunt’s house and dating a lovely boy called Antonio. My son and family survived your manipulations, barely.”, snarled the first guard.

Lila glanced at the older guard.

“I don’t expect you to recognise me, either. But I suspect you’ll recognise the name of my sister, Aurelie Dumont.”, he said.

And now Lila’s blood really did run cold because she could not deny that she knew that name. The guard was nearing his fifties but still spry, and Lila began to see a faint resemblance as she looked closer; his ears were similar to Giselle’s and she’d had similar eyes.

“When I learned that the one responsible for my beloved niece’s suicide was going to be residing in this prison, I nearly handed in my resignation on the spot. The only thing that stopped me was Federico here, whose own family had suffered at your hands and who needed the money. So I stayed on, and learned everything I could about you. What I read disgusted me; you are a selfish, cruel, conceited, arrogant and delusional creature who not only thinks nothing of stepping on other people to get what you want but positively relishes in it. The lives you ruined were never more than a footnote in your own personal history. So I decided to stay, to wait until an opportunity came by to cause you the same sense of loss and rage that I felt when you took my niece from us. I know you hated that Marinette girl and tried to do to her what you did to Giselle, so I made sure you would watch that show and know that you’ve really lost.”, the man snarled.

“I’ll report you for that! Attempted manipulation to cause emotional trauma!”, Lila cried.

Both guards chuckled mirthlessly.

“Oh, I’m sure you will. But as we said previously, who will believe the word of a liar?”, the older guard said.

And they promptly left. Lila was left on her own, seething in fury and running through possible scenarios and occurrences that she could turn to her advantage, but nothing came. She was imprisoned, shut away from a world that either hated her or knew nothing of her existence. And if by some miracle she ever emerged, she would find a world that would rather spit on her than welcome her, let alone adulate her. But she would never learn to accept a quiet and humble place in the world, to keep her head down and make a functional and somewhat honest life for herself. No. She would forever be attempting to place herself above everyone else, tearing down those who threatened that, and suffering the consequences of her inherently doomed and self-destructive ambitions. She would forever be consigned to see every plot, plan and scheme to ascend come. Crumbling. Down.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And so we come to the end. But I always have new ideas, and plenty of them will involve Lila getting punished harshly, rest assured. 
> 
> Marinette makes her debut as a designer under the fabulous Edna Mode, who is among my all-time favourite fictional characters. I can only hope I did her justice here, particularly in her barbs with Audrey Bourgeois, who would never admit it but is scared to death of the diminutive designer.
> 
> Each of Marinette's designs was based off a Miraculous, some we've seen on the show and others that were just speculation on my part. Any who do it are welcome to create fanart of the outfits, if they so wish. All were designed with some form of aesthetic in mind and are intended to be practical and functional as well as gorgeous.
> 
> As for Lila, Karma could not resist getting in one last jab. I know the likelihood of having the relatives of two of Lila's past victims working at the same prison where she is held seems contrived and farfetched, but I wanted them to get a bit of revenge and closure. Lila will never be redeemed in the context of this story, always striving to push herself ahead and above everyone else without realising that these efforts are doomed to fail, poisoning herself with her own venom.

**Author's Note:**

> And so we have the first chapter. More will be coming soon, but please feel free to let me know what you think.


End file.
